Newly-promoted Stone Rugby Club began life in the Staffordshire 2nd Team League with a remarkable comeback win over Willenhall 2nds last weekend.
Stone went into the game cautiously optimistic after a positive pre-season but were immediately put on the back foot. Poor tackling and sloppy handling saw them almost played off the park for the first 40 minutes, shipping four tries with only a penalty kick to reply, leaving the score 26-3 and the game seemingly already lost at half time. And it got worse. Willenhall added to Stone’s misfortune soon after the break, scoring their fifth try to extend their lead to 33-3.
With nothing but pride left to play for, Stone rallied and began to make inroads into the home defence before finally managing the breakthrough, first through Paul Draycott and then former captain John Bekalo crossing over.
With the game entering the final quarter, a string of quick-fire Stone tries turned the game on its head, with captain Chip Laidlaw leading the charge before a brace for Ross Norton and John Bekalo’s second saw Stone go from 30 points behind on 50 minutes to eight points ahead just 20 minutes later.
Willenhall ensured the match remained tight with another score to reduce the lead to three points with five minutes to go before Ross Norton completed his hat trick at the death, giving Stone 43 second-half points and a very unlikely 46-38 victory.
