After enduring a miserable November in which they suffered four consecutive defeats in league and cup action KC’s were targeting a bonus point win at lowly Stafford but in the end were thankful to come away with a share of the spoils.
Kidder started the match in a state of some disarray as a result of late withdrawals owing to illness and took the field with several last minute personnel and positional changes and only a replacement prop on the bench for the first twenty minutes until two more players arrived to make up their full complement.To add to their woes,inside the first five minutes centre Rich Sollom went off with a blood injury,they were shoved off their own scrum and an attempted clearance kick was charged down but they were able to relieve the early pressure when No 6 Ewan Thompson made ground from a good lineout catch and a penetrating kick by player coach Andy McLellan rolled into touch close to Stafford’s left corner flag.KC’s stole the throw and after charging down a kick from a scrum deep in the hosts 22 they won another lineout from which they moved the ball infield before switching back to right wing Alex Thompson who went over in the corner to give Kidder a 5-0 lead from their first real attack.
Eight minutes later more scrum damage pressurised them into some hurried passes and they conceded a penalty in front of their posts for not releasing. Stafford’s flyhalf knocked over the kick and with their powerful pack causing all sorts of problems at scrum time on a heavy pitch it was clear that Kidder were in for a difficult afternoon.The hosts edged ahead 6-5 when KC’s were penalised at a ruck inside their 22,again directly in front,and the simple opportunity was made even easier for the No 10 when Kiddy were marched back ten metres for dissent.
Kidderminster were being limited to the occasional breakaway but turnover ball on halfway released left wing Jordan Hatch who cut inside before offloading to second row Jack Tunstall in the space outside and although he was tackled just short of the line the support arrived to drive him over and put the visitors ahead 10-6.Stafford had not shown much behind the scrum but with halftime approaching their flyhalf went through a huge gap in KC’s midfield to give their left wing a run into the 22 which culminated in a penalty for the home side.Not surprisingly, they opted for a scrum eight metres out and went for a pushover try which Kidder stopped at the expense of another penalty.Two further penalties followed in quick succession and KC’s were lucky to escape unscathed when Stafford’s No 10 missed a routine pot at goal with the last kick of the half.
After the re-start Kidder went through some good phases without making much progress before being turned over and a good Stafford kick and chase won them a lineout fifteen metres out.KC’s throw was not straight and the Stafford scrum spelled danger,resulting in a series of forwards drives to the line which inevitably ended with a penalty for the home side and even though their tighthead prop went off injured they opted for a scrum and muscled over for a try which their flyhalf improved to put them back in front 13-10.Five minutes later KC’s set up a rolling maul from a lineout which took them into Stafford’s 22 for the first time in the second period and they won a penalty which scrumhalf Chris Pinner converted to level the scores.
Midway through the half Kidder were at last enjoying more territory but a yellow card for McLellan tilted the scales back in favour of the home side who soon exploited their one man advantage to create an overlap which should have produced a try but for a careless forward pass which let KC’s off the hook.Replacement wing Will Varley put in two terrific tackles to keep the home side at bay but they kept coming at fourteen man Kidder and looked certain to score until their right wing dropped the ball with the line at his mercy.
Ironically,as soon as KC’s were restored to full strength they conceded a try when Stafford were gifted possession from an overthrown lineout and created space wide out left to break the deadlock.Buoyed by this score and encouraged by a very partisan crowd Stafford threatened to cut loose but were kept out by some dogged Kidder defence and the visitors then roused themselves to launch a late onslaught which rescued the match when skipper Rob Delahay forced his way over the whitewash.The conversion attempt,which might have won all four points,was pulled narrowly wide but there was still time for Stafford to almost snatch the win themselves with the very last kick of the game but their penalty effort from the right touchline also missed and a draw was probably a fair result.
This was not a match for the purists,certainly not easy on the eye and more akin to a heavyweight contest with both sides slugging it out for the whole eighty minutes plus not far short of another twenty for time added on.Towards the end of the game the pitch was littered with Stafford forwards going down with cramp and it was the sort of afternoon when Kidder could have done with the Baldwin twins and veteran Layton Wilkinson but their battling performance at least stopped the rot and they can go into their local derby at home to Stourbridge Lions next Saturday in good heart.