Rance delighted with his 'resolute' defence

DIRECTOR of rugby Tom Rance was pleased with his ‘resolute’ defence as Stratford secured a hard-earned victory at Sutton Coldfield on Saturday.

James Southall scored the game’s only try of the game, with Nath Geekie adding the extras and kicking a penalty.

Both sides went down to 14 men in the second half when two were shown the red card, including Stratford’s Craig Voisey.

Stratford then went down to 13 men in the closing stages when Mark Hibberd was sent to the sin-bin, but Rance’s side held firm.

“The game was more indicative of the way they wanted to play,” said Rance.

“The one thing that was resolute was our defence — they didn’t really threaten us scoring wise. “We left quite a few points out on the pitch, but to go there and get a win, regardless of the performance, you have to be happy with that.”

The win moves the Black and Whites up to third in Midlands 1 West and they stand a good chance of moving further up the table on Saturday.

The division’s top two, Newport and Bournville, go head-to-head, so victory for Stratford against Whitchurch would either see them go second or close the gap on top spot.