National League Division 2 North: Stourbridge 23, Caldy 29

SPIRITED Stour gave title favourites Caldy a real run for their money before ultimately slipping to their sixth straight defeat.

Stour supporters had cause to fear the worse when Caldy struck with an opening try within 80 seconds of the kick-off.

Inside centre Jack Lavin kicked to the corner where Caldy No.8 Josh Dickinson stole Stour's line-out ball and waltzed over the line unopposed for Lavin to convert.

Sustained Caldy pressure produced a second try on 16 minutes when outside centre Forbes Edwards chased a delightful kick ahead to dot down.

Trailing 12-0, Stour started to fight back and pushed Caldy back deep inside their own territory where they forced a line-out, from which flanker Billy Harding bulldozed his way over for a try which full back Luke White converted.

White then landed a penalty shot on the half hour, cutting Caldy's lead to 12-10 at the break.

The excellent White then kicked Stour in front when he struck with two long range penalty attempts to put the Stourton Park side 16-12 ahead and a possible upset was on the cards.

Caldy, who have only lost once this season, then reasserted themselves as replacement prop Nathan Rushton rampaged his way over the line on 56 minutes.

Five minutes later, Dickinson snapped up his second try of the game when he raced through a huge gap in Stour's defence to score.

Lavin converted both tries and then added a penalty on 70 minutes to put the issue beyond doubt at 29-16.

Credit to Stour who kept going and they were rewarded deep into stoppage time, when following a sustained attacking spell, the ball was flung wide to Dan Rundle who raced over to score in the corner with 88 minutes gone on the clock.

White then crowned a majestic display with the boot by landing a magnificent touchline conversion to secure Stour a well deserved bonus point.

Stour: White; Rundle, Tilsley, Scott, Bridger; Petty, Heatley; Thorp, Wilkes, Thorne; Depper, Murphy; Mukarati, Harding, Moore. Replacements: Sturdy, Harrison, Lea, Munro, Ham.