Match report - Sat 4th Nov 2017

Match day photos show the Sutton try scorers with centre Joe Gregory on the left and no8 George Ord on the right, pictured before his injury:

David Daniels
SCRFC 1st XV Team Manager

Just when it seemed that Sutton's troubled season could not get any worse, last weekend not only did Sutton 1st XV lose to Stourbridge Lions by 32-10 after a disjointed performance but they also lost another key player when George Ord, who has been a real powerhouse player in the pack all season went down with a suspected broken arm in the closing minutes of the game. Such was the concern for the stricken player that the medics at the match called for an ambulance to be brought to the pitchside and the game was transferred to an adjacent pitch for the final few minutes.

The player was treated by the ambulance crew before being taken to Russell's Hall Hospital, Dudley with a suspected broken arm. Happily however, x-rays showed that the arm was not broken but there was serious soft tissue damage which would take about 6 weeks to recover, denying Sutton the services of another key player as they try to extradite themselves from their present woes.

As to the game itself, young Nathan Heath made an impressive 1st XV debut at scrum half with Ollie Green moving to fullback in yet another new look Sutton line-up including a new pairing at centre, having lost the experience of Jack Duthie to injury in the previous game with Joe Gregory coming in off the wing to join flanker Luke Stewart in the centre and with the powerful Tom Burrows on one wing and the talented Jack Wells on the other, Sutton had on paper a decent line-up but such are the injury problems Sutton are having to cope with, many of the backs are not playing in their preferred or natural positions and so it is not surprising that the Sutton game is not flowing as it once did. In the pack Jamie Willetts made a welcome return to partner young Harry Moxon in the second row and Josh Bailey made a significant impact as a flanker in his first senior game of the season alongside fellow flanker Anton Tayler as George Ord resumed at no8.

After a rainy morning the game kicked off in dry conditions with a hint of sun but the sun did not shine on Sutton when virtually direct from the kick off Sutton were penalised for holding on just outside their 22 and fullback Tom Mitchell kicked the penalty from in front of the posts to give the home side a 3-0 lead after just 2 minutes of play.

Sutton rallied well after the early set back and after good attacking play they moved the ball deep into the Lions 22 where they won a penalty on the right wing. Keeping the momentum going Sutton took a quick tap to set up a try for no8 George Ord, who drove over from close range to claim a deserved score, which gave Sutton a 5-3 lead after 9 minutes of play.

Unfortunately the Sutton conversion attempt drifted wide and so did their brief recovery as immediately following the restart Stourbridge regained possession and attacked down their right wing into the Sutton 22 before transferring the ball infield where scrum half Will King spotted a big gap in the Sutton central defence and the no9 raced smartly through the gap to score under the posts. Thus Sutton's lead was short lived and Tom Mitchell slotted the conversion to give the home side a 10-5 lead after 10 minutes of play... then Sutton's problems were compounded further when Stourbridge took the ball on from the restart and set up a lineout on the left wing. The home side won the ball on the left and a quick transfer of the ball from left to right beat the Sutton defence to put right wing George Tildesley in for an excellent try in the right corner. The difficult conversion was missed but the score had moved onto 15-5 with 12 minutes played and within 4 minutes Sutton found themselves 22-5 down when they halted a Stourbridge attack on their 22 but the home side still had possession and an accurate cross field kick from left to right across the Sutton 22 was well taken by no8 Scott Langdon, who gathered and crossed for the try. This time Mitchell made no mistake with the conversion to extend the Lions lead to 22-5 with 16 minutes played.

Again Sutton rallied and evened up the play but the visitors conceded a penalty in mid field 30 metres out and Tom Mitchell took the points on offer to take the lead up to 25-5 with 15 minutes to go to the break.

There was no further score up to the break but during the first half for all the good things done by the Sutton players, small errors, missed tackles and loose passes/poor kicks etc cost them dear at crucial stages in the game with chances going begging and their opponents were quick to pounce on anything that came their way.

To their credit, in spite of the 20 point deficit Sutton made a spirited start to the second half and played some good attacking rugby taking play deep into Stourbridge territory down their left wing before swinging the ball into midfield with good hands to set up a try in the right corner for centre Joe Gregory, who forced his way over the try line for his first try of the season for the 1st XV. Unfortunately the difficult conversion drifted wide but the game restarted with a penalty on the halfway as punishment to the Lions defender for a reckless tackle on the Sutton centre as he drove over for the try. Joe Gregory was dazed by the desperate tackle but recovered quickly to continue the contest with the score closed to 25-10.

However, try as they may Sutton struggled to improve their score and unfortunately such is their bad luck this season that when no8 George Ord did cross the try line for a deserved score after good attacking play by Sutton, the try was disallowed as the referee had blown up to deal with an off the ball incident just before the ball was grounded. So much for playing advantage as having disallowed the try the game was restarted with a scrum to Sutton in the Stourbridge 22, presumably because Stourbridge were responsible for the stoppage. A scrum but no try for Sutton in this season of frustration.

Unfortunately things did not get any better for Sutton and midway through the second half centre Cass Brookes raced in to score the Lion's 4th try of the day winning them a bonus point, after a clearance by Sutton down the right wing was taken by Stourbridge and played in field for the centre to claim the score under the posts giving fullback Tom Mitchell an easy conversion and Stourbridge a winning score line of 32-10.

Although there was no further score a lot happened in the final 20 minutes, the most significant being the injury to Sutton's erstwhile no8 and try scorer George Ord. The incident happened as Sutton defended a scrum on their 22 and as George Ord stooped to pick up the ball at the base of the scrum the retreating scrum collapsed on him pinning his arm and putting pressure on his chest and shoulder causing great pain. Both the Sutton physio and the Stourbridge physio rushed to attend the player and the game was stopped as an assessment of the injury was made. The injury and the pain caused was considered enough to call for an ambulance and the game was transferred to the adjacent pitch, which had just been vacated at the end of the second team fixture.

The game was played out to the end without further incident and Sutton were left to reflect on another defeat and yet another significant injury to a key player. The one question in the minds of the players, coaches and loyal supporters is when will Sutton's luck change for the better.

In the meantime all the aforementioned will battle on until we start to make our own luck.

This weekend Sutton travel down the M5 to take on Worcester Wanderers at their Sixways home hoping for a change in fortune. KO 2.15 pm. All support welcome.

Other team results:

Unfortunately, weakened by the constant call-up's into the 1st XV due to the growing injury list, Sutton 2nd XV suffered a heavy defeat away to Stourbridge 2nd XV on Saturday but happily Sutton Women won their game at Dudley Kingswinford on Sunday and went top of their table to the delight of team leader Charlie Byrne and legendary coach Nathan Burchell plus everyone in the Sutton club.

Sutton Colts also travelled to Dudley Kingswinford on Sunday and came away with another excellent 41-22 win to keep a smile on the face of Sutton Rugby club.