Since their great victory

in the match against

London Scottish, Otley have been floundering on their travels, losing

40 -17 at Tynedale and by a massive 92- 0 at Esher. Standing six

points behind relegation rivals Cinderford with only five games to

go, Otley obviously could afford no slip ups in this match against

Stourbridge.

From the start it seemed

apparent that there was to be a clash of styles – Otley’s fast

and skilful backs against Stourbridge’s big pack of forwards. The

first five minutes saw Otley under relentless pressure, and two swift

penalties were conceded in an attempt to quell the tide. Fortunately

both shots at goal were pulled wide and Otley started to get into the

game. Pressure set up after a promising run from winger Curtis Wilson

saw Otley awarded a penalty. The penalty kick found touch, the

line-out was won cleanly and a powerful maul was set up. It was a

testimony to the Otley pack’s technique that they drove their much

heavier opponents over the line to claim a pushover try, credited to

prop Adam Blades. James Murray missed the conversion but Otley led

5-0 after 15 minutes.

Alas, almost immediately

after the restart, Otley were penalised for offside and Stourbridge

went for goal and reduced the lead to 5-3. Ten minutes later, it was

Otley’s turn to gain a penalty. The kick found touch and the

lineout gave good possession to the backs. Half-backs Depledge and

Murray combined well to put Ollie Denton into space He sold an

outrageous dummy to break clear and as he was grounded just short of

the line, he popped a splendidly deft pass up to Chris Georgiou who

darted over for a fine try. Murray converted and Otley led 12-3.

On the half-hour, Otley

thrilled the crowd with an enterprising length-of-the-field move.

Stourbridge were penalised for offside and Murray found a long touch.

The line out was won and Otley kept re-cycling the ball, eventually

moving the ball out to the left wing for Mark Kirby to go over for a

good try. Murray kicked an excellent conversion to put Otley in a

commanding 19-3 lead.

Stourbridge came straight

back onto the offensive, and only a fine last-ditch tackle by

full-back Chris Georgiou saved a certain try. Just on half-time

Otley were penalised, allowing Stourbridge to set up a series of

powerful rucks and mauls. Otley held firm for a long time, but

eventually the big Stourbridge pack forced their way over the line

for the inevitable push-over try. The conversion succeeded and the

lead was cut to 19-10. Otley returned to the attack and Stourbridge

resorted to going offside. Murray duly obliged by scoring a penalty

goal and the teams went into the dressing rooms at half time with

Otley leading 22-10.

Throughout the first half,

it was observable that Otley’s main strengths lay in their backs.

Otley therefore had the good sense to try to recycle their won ball

quickly and avoid a war of attrition up front. However, they then

displayed a woeful tendency to kick away good possession and return

the initiative to the opposition. Stourbridge, on the other hand,

had the clear advantage of a much heavier pack. Nevertheless, they

too were impatient to feed their backs rather than keep the ball in

the forwards. At half time it seemed that Otley could preserve their

lead if they refrained from the aimless kicking, but Stourbridge

would pose a formidable threat if they tried to orchestrate a tight

game between the two packs.

Early on in the second

half it seemed that Stourbridge (or at least their coach) had seen

the light and they started a series of short passing moves amongst

their forwards. The ensuing power play had Otley on the back foot and

after only one minute of play Stourbridge were over for a push-over

try that was converted to bring the scores to a narrow 22-17.

A few minutes later,

Stourbridge were penalised for crossing and Murray scored the penalty

goal, giving Otley a little breathing space at 25-17. Stourbridge

came back with a series of mauls and kept edging remorselessly

towards the Otley line. Eventually power and weight won out and

another try was awarded to Stourbridge, the conversion narrowing the

lead to a wafer-thin 25-24. It was beginning to look as though Otley

were sure to be overwhelmed by their bigger opponents.

However, after about 65

minutes, Otley seemed to have clinched the game with a fine try.

Ollie Stedman charged through the defence with a strong drive. When

he was tackled Otley recycled the ball for Denton to break through

and pass to Stephen Depledge; as he was grounded just short of the

line, Depledge sent a perfect pass out to Curtis Wilson. Wilson took

the ball cleanly and zipped over the line for a try. Murray converted

and it was 32-24. Against all the odds Otley looked reasonably

comfortable.

Stourbridge pressed and

Otley kept conceding penalties to keep them out. From one of them, a

line out to Stourbridge set up a rolling maul and another pushover

try. The game was again in the balance at 32-29. A penalty goal from

Murray relieved some of the pressure but even at 35 -29 it was going

to be a close run thing.

Stourbridge came back

again to score and with five minutes left Otley had to hang on to a

35-34 lead. A minute later, Tom O’Donnell was sin binned and Otley

now had to cope with playing with only 14 men. Howard Parr rallied

his troops and urged them to one final effort. Nobody flinched or

wilted as Stourbridge battered away at the Otley line. The match went

into stoppage time. Stourbridge threw everything into attack and now

had to pass the ball about recklessly. Substitute George Warner saw

his chance when one pass went astray; he went for the interception,

took the ball cleanly and raced for the line. The desperate defence

eventually caught him, but he managed to offload to James Twomey, who

forced his way over for a try. The crowd rejoiced. The final

substantive act of the game was for Murray to land a very difficult

conversion – this time from way out on the right wing. The score

was now 42-34 and both the victory and the bonus point were safe.

A few minutes later, the

whistle went and the win was confirmed.

After the last home game,

we all thought that nothing could ever compare with that wonderful

London Scottish match. It probably still can’t, but this encounter

was almost as exciting, and the win just as well deserved.

The only bad news of the

day was that Cinderford had won too. It looks as though Otley will

need to win all of the final four league matches to avoid relegation.

This will obviously be difficult, but if the team continues to play

with this spirit and self-belief, it is certainly possible.