’Stoke come up short

THE script for this disappointing early-season rugby setback was set long before Jim Dixon's men even left Down Grange on Saturday.

While Chippenham were able to record a second successive home victory over Basingstoke, their visitors followed a lacklustre Thursday night training session with the decimation of their first-choice back division.

Ollie Rogers apart, Basingstoke lost Myles Rutherford, due to a shoulder injury, along with the unavailable Ollie Thomas, Simon Buckland and Dave Lambert.

Then, on Friday night, influential centre Matt Lucas injured his knee playing company five-a-side football, creating another unwelcome problem for player-coach Dixon.

Having spoken of how pleased he was with the side's strength in depth ahead of the 2006-07 campaign, Dixon did not expect, only two games into the new season, to be hit so hard in one concentrated team area.

It then got even worse for 'Stoke when the closure of junctions 13 to 14 of the M4, due to a jack-knifed lorry, forced a cross-country coach journey of two-and-a-half hours.

The 'Stoke players did not arrive at Allington Field until 2.30pm, ensuring a hurried warm-up.

It was no surprise, therefore, that there was a subdued air to the 'Stoke side that was reflected in their play.

The early exchanges saw both big, strong packs vying well for supremacy at the scrum and lineout, where Ross Stirling jumped and claimed unerringly to win ball for his team.

However, the pattern for the game was set, with the new backs struggling to make an impact with possession the forwards won for them.

Handling errors and a lack of cohesion ensured Chippenham regularly turned over the visitors' ball.

A penalty against fly-half David Jones for holding on after he was tackled led to a 10th-minute penalty from which his opposite number, Dave Slee, converted for a 3-0 lead.

Rogers had the chance to level within a minute with a penalty, but he dragged his kick wide of the posts. It was a reprieve from which Chippenham took heart.

With the probing passing, running and kicking of scrum-half Tom Collins and Slee, Chippenham's offensive play grew in stature.

Only some superb defence from Gareth Jones - too often isolated on the wing - ensured that replacement home wing Jon Whiteman was held up short of the line following one pacy attack.

However, one minute later, from a scrum just inside the 22, Collins' blindside dummy pass and burst past Neil Young saw him produce a side-stepping run past three tackles and the last-ditch efforts of Dixon near the try-line to score.

Slee converted to make it 10-0.

Shortly afterwards, Dixon and Simon Appleby exchanged places in the scrum, yet the momentum was with Chippenham and only more fine defence from winger Jones and second-row Stirling denied further scores.

Defending well on the right flank close to their line, 'Stoke conceded a second try on 29 minutes.

After a good lineout take, maul and subsequent clearance kick from Jones, full-back Mark Livesey collected to set up a backs attack that Chippenham captain Rupert Crockett finished off in the left corner.

Slee missed the conversion, but 'Stoke responded with a better passage of play, putting the rare sight of three to four phases together, as Dixon, Young and Jones tried to galvanise the ranks before half-time.

Trailing 15-0 at the interval, the half-time admonishment appeared to have been heeded, for 'Stoke began the second half brightly.

Appleby, who was generally quiet by his abrasive standards, supported new centre Tim Richards well when the 'Stoke man was tackled, but Rogers' subsequent kick forward failed to find touch and the ball was lost once more.

As 'Stoke got ever closer to a score, Chippenham won two crucial scrums against the head to keep them out.

Still, the momentum was slowly switching towards 'Stoke.

But it was lost in a match-turning moment, which came on 52 minutes with another error.

Grant Murdoch lost possession to Crockett and saw Chippenham surge upfield and recycle from right to left, where Appleby and Rowlands were the two 'Stoke players up against three out wide.

No 8 James Gaiger tussled with flanker Appleby as he tried to get to the try-line and, although he lost the ball briefly, he reclaimed it to score.

The general frustration within the team saw hooker Rowlands sin-binned soon afterwards.

The game was up for 14-man Basingstoke on 65 minutes, when Gaiger again seized on a loose pass from David Jones to scamper away over 20 metres for a try that Slee converted from under the posts.

'Stoke: Grant Murdoch; Robbie Holmes (rep Darren Lillywhite 72min), Ollie Rogers, Tim Richards, Gareth Jones; David Jones, Jamie Fish; Neil Young, Andrew Rowlands (rep Tom Northcote 70min), Simon Lovegrove (rep Shane Murphy 39min); Ross Stirling, Adrian Hopkins; Jim Dixon, Simon Appleby, Caan Childs.