'Stoke punished

BATTLING Basingstoke disappointingly spurned a victory that was within their grasp at St Ives.

The hosts' penal punishment of visiting mistakes and stout defence helped them wrestle back the success that Jim Dixon's side appeared to be heading for in Cornwall.

In the opening 15 minutes, despite playing into a considerable wind, 'Stoke retained possession through many phases of exciting, attacking rugby to go 7-0 up through Jamie Fish's converted try.

So it was a source of consternation to 'Stoke's director of rugby, his players and the supporters who made the long trip to Alexandra Road for Saturday's game that they did not win.

Due to handling and disciplinary errors that crept into 'Stoke's play, well-drilled St Ives recovered to post two converted tries, plus two penalties, to lead 20-7 at half-time.

And despite the visitors' substantial territory inside their 22, as they utilised the conditions in the second half, St Ives held firm and clinched the league points with their breakaway score midway through the half.

Simon Appleby's consolation try ensured 'Stoke got another score that their efforts warranted, but the late red card of returning lock Russell Northcote - his first ever - for illegal stamping capped a frustrating South West One result.

Still trying to put his new-look side in place, Dixon said he saw a lot of positives in the display, not least in the way 'Stoke proactively tried to play their own game instead of reacting to St Ives' physicality.

But he was naturally irked that 'Stoke did not triumph, and said: "When we executed our game plan and stuck to it, we played some of our best rugby this season, especially early on.

"If we played like that in weeks gone by we'd be mid-table, but we didn't stick to the structure that was working."

He added: "We only made three real mistakes but were punished with three tries when we stopped playing to our pattern. It's something we must learn from."

A 15th-minute score from St Ives winger Lee Taylor, converted by full-back Grant Thirlby, was a lifeline as, from the outset, 'Stoke tore into St Ives and took them aback.

Scrum-half Fish's clever blindside dart in from just outside the 22, from a ruck following a break from Dave Lambert, well-supported by the front row, caught St Ives cold. Simon Humberstone added the extras on 10 minutes.

'Stoke were on top of their game. However, when St Ives restored parity, there was a hard-fought 15-minute spell where the forwards gained significant yardage but without an end product, particularly as the St Ives unit became wise to hard-grafting Caan Childs' pick up and charges from No 8.

But a succession of turnovers and kicks advanced St Ives close enough for flanker Michael Brooke to score on 30 minutes after 'Stoke's defence had previously held the pack up on three occasions in the far right corner.

Two minutes later, as the hosts came again, Tom Northcote was penalised for off-side by referee Luke Pearce, and Thirlby took the three points on offer from just short of 30 metres out.

The full-back did so again on 35 minutes as Chris Williams' yellow card gave St Ives another scoring chance to make it 20-7.

Undeterred, 'Stoke launched another offensive and worked extremely hard to progress to within a metre of the try-line, with breaks by Humberstone and Appleby aiding the territorial gain before impressive tight-head Shane Murphy set off on a superb driving maul that his fellow forwards drove on.

Unfortunately, as the ball was recycled, Appleby was held up just short and Pearce duly deemed the flanker was holding on to the ball.

The offence fortuitously allowed St Ives the chance to clear their lines when a 'Stoke try would have made a huge difference.

The return of Williams strengthened the forwards once more and when Andrew Patrick's run drew a penalty, Humberstone made it 20-10 on 45 minutes.

As 'Stoke clearly progressed with the mindset of taking penalty points when available, another one, this time 40 metres out, gave Humberstone a kicking chance he narrowly missed.

'Stoke were in the ascendancy, but on 65 minutes they were undone with a St Ives try, which went unconverted.

Phil Perkins' introduction aided the 'Stoke pack, but St Ives remained belligerent in defence until the 80th minute, when Tom Northcote, Perkins and Fish combined to set up Fish's lovely reverse pass for Appleby to crash over, sadly too late to have any impact on proceedings.

'Stoke: Ollie Rogers; Dave Lambert, Mike Swenson, Andrew Patrick, Darren Lillywhite (rep Tim Richards 54 mins); Simon Humberstone, Jamie Fish; Simon Lovegrove (rep Phil Perkins 70 mins), Jamie Folan, Shane Murphy; Ross Stirling, Chris Williams (rep Russell Northcote 54 mins); Tom Northcote, Simon Appleby, Caan Childs.