Sat 20 Apr 2024
After a walk over in the first round, Stags green army continued their march down the road to Darlo with a comprehensive 75-7 win against Handsworth to book their place in the semi finals.
Stags ran in eleven tries in the one side affair, with Jamie Gunn, JJ Ward, Barnie West, Simon Rose, Wade Schoeman, Tyler Merton, Wes Moore crossing the whitewash, and a brace each to Doug Clarke and Joe Hicken. Hicken was successful with ten of his eleven shots at goal.
Stags only blotted their copybook by conceding a penalty try just before halftime.
Coach Leader was happy with the result, saying “I am happy with the result.
“Despite the scoreline though, I don’t think we were anywhere near our best. We shaped well for most of the game but too many unforced errors made for a bit of a stop start game.
“When we were up 26-0, you could still argue Handsworth were in control just like St Ives were when we were 26-0 up against them.
“But when Simon Rose scored a solo try from inside our 22, very reminiscent of John Kirwan in the 1987 rugby World Cup against Italy, it was fair to say we were back in the drivers seat.
Captain Wayne Bradley praised his sides performance saying “Handsworth probably turned up with a lot of confidence having beaten Casuals in the last round, a side that beat us only a few weeks earlier but we really put them to the sword.
“It was great for us to be able to give a good bit of game time to some fringe players and also debuts for two colts.
“Tyler is one of those colts and he took his chance to score a good try, and Hugo was impressive in chopping his pint in the clubrooms after the game so he has a bright future as well.
“On a lighter note, it was amusing to see the Handsworth replacement prop who came on probably took over from Roger Shakespeare as the shortest player to ever step onto the Racecourse” chuckled Bradley.
The win may have come at a cost though, with Shakespeare, Jack Skidmore and Richard North all picking up injuries. “At least we have a week off now so hopefully a few sore bodies can be rested, and Jack can work on his new house in Stanground” concluded Bradley.
The final step on the road to Darlo is a semi final fixture against Coalville at home on the 4th May. All support welcome.
