Cup success for Romford!

It was a bright Bank Holiday Sunday morning that welcomed Stanford to Crow Lane. Romford vowed to put aside the results of the last few matches and were determined that the Cup was going to belong to them for the second season in a row. Romford were focused and prepared and they made a great start. The passes were sticking and Romford immediately piled on the pressure, the first try of the day being scored by Shaun Kerr as he broke through the line to touch down. Romford decided to go again and straight from the restart they gathered the ball, they worked their way up the pitch for Luke Metcalf to break through and score under the posts with an excellent conversion from Sam Slatford to follow. Stanford were not going to lay down though and they scored two tries in quick succession to level the score. This galvanized Romford into action and they pushed up the field with the forwards applying real pressure in the middle of the park sucking defenders in. Ryan Page came close to touching the ball down over the line but the ball was knocked backwards into Sam Slatford’s waiting arms for him to gather and score Romford’s third try which he duly converted. The last try of the half came from some excellent individual work from Tayo Adewole on the wing, he was just too fast for Stanford and his fabulous try was also converted by Sam Slatford.

Half time: Romford 26-12 Stanford

In the second half Stanford really tried to get back into the game and no additional points were scored for a full 15 minutes as they piled the pressure on Romford. Romford defended resolutely though. They rucked strongly and tackled well, they held their line and stood strong. Eventually Stanford did break through to score their last try of the game but the restart was to herald a fine 15 minute spell for Romford with four more tries scored. Torez Polius weaved through the Stanford defence and Luke Metcalf touched down in the corner for try number five. The restart and resulting gather garnered another strong carry from Tayo Adewole and pass to Harry Runham who was unlucky not to score himself but made sure that Michael Courtney could, Sam Slatford adding the extras. Michael Courtney scored try number seven with another weaving run to touch the ball down. The final try of the game being scored by Tom O’Meara whose speed down the wing could not be matched by Stanford and this try was converted by Bobby Watts.

Romford U15’s drew a large crowd today full of vocal support encouraging them every step of the way! The full time whistle confirmed a well deserved cup win. Well done Romford U15s!

Final score:

Romford 50
Stanford 19

Tries: Shaun Kerr, Luke Metcalf (2), Michael Courtney (2), Sam Slatford, Tayo Adewole, Tom O’Meara
Conversions: Sam Slatford (4), Bobby Watts (1)

Squad: L. Metcalf (c), T. Adewole, M. Courtney, O. Flower, N. Fragjaj, C. Hardy, S. Kerr, B. Lloyd, A. Olaleye, T. O’Meara, J. Mimms, R. Page, L. Potter, T. Polius, R. Pooley, H. Runham, B. Shawyer, S. Slatford, B. Walton, B. Watts