So very nearly…

It was a cold, wet, miserable Sunday morning that welcomed Stanford to Crow Lane. The drizzling rain and cold conditions heralded a difficult match, but this was a game that was going to be closely fought. A converted break away try from Stanford opened the scoring but Romford built pressure on Stanford and Luke Metcalf used his speed to break away and score a try of his own. Romford worked very hard and spent most of the half camped in the Stanford twenty two but try as they might the weather conspired to make passing moves difficult and a series of penalties from both sides slowed the game down. A counter move gained Stanford a second try just before half time

Half time: RGP 5-12 Stanford

In the second half Romford continued to pile on the pressure. A penalty close to the Stanford try line and a passing move to the wing allowed Torez Polius to dodge and weave through the Stanford players to score Romford’s second try of the game. Unfortunately Stanford again managed to break away and score their third of the game but Romford did not give up. The U14s were piling on the pressure but they could not convert until Sam Slatford managed to score Romfords third. The last 10 minutes were fast and frantic, Romford’s scrum was strong and the U14s battled hard but they couldn’t find the winning try, 3 trys a piece with just a single conversion separating the sides.

Final score:

RGP 15
Stanford 17

Tries: Luke Metcalf, Torez Polius, Sam Slatford

Squad: L. Metcalf (c), M. Courtney, C. Hardy, H. Runham, S. Kerr, B. Watts, B. Walton, J. Mimms, M. Sultana, T. O’Meara, T. Polius, L. Harris, S. Slatford, N. Fragjaj, J. Rawana, L. Potter, R. Blinkhorne, O. Flower, R. Page