Stourbridge rocked in London
Stourbridge's early season form took a dent against Blackheath on Saturday - but coach Neil Mitchell is confident his talented side will repair the damage at home to Waterloo.
Stourbridge's early season form took a dent against Blackheath on Saturday - but coach Neil Mitchell is confident his talented side will repair the damage at home to Waterloo.
The Liverpool-based side, relegated last season, are expected to travel south with a big pack in tow meaning Mitchell is likely to add a more abrasive edge to the eight that were out-muscled in London.
Blackheath's front five proved adept in starving Mitchell's outfit of the ball for long periods and with the ability at Stour's disposal out wide, the coach is eager not to see his flyers go frustrated again.
The recall of Rod Petty to the starting line-up - in his favoured position of scrum-half - could be crucial, as could the return of former Bedford star Adrian Olver to the front row.
The England Counties' prop's presence was sorely missed last week despite the commendable effort of colt Carl Taylor, who was making his debut.
"The result against Blackheath was probably a fair reflection of the game," said Mitchell.
Stour trailed 13-3 at half time and, after some harsh words, drew the second eight all.
A try from winger Tom Jarvis provided some late hope for the visitors, and Ally Bressington again chipped away with the boot - but Blackheath's hunger was more evident and Stour's skilful backs failed to find the same spark that helped unlock Cambridge's defence the previous week.
Mitchell said: "They were a decent outfit and we got rocked back a bit. They had a very good front five and we did not get enough ball."
Waterloo will try and do the same with their cumbersome but effective set of forwards - but they should be out-gunned if Mitchell's side performs as it can.
He added: "They have lost some players after coming down but they have quite a lumpy set of forwards.
"We did not get a lot of ball against Blackheath so players like Sam Robinson could not really show what they could do.
"Hopefully that will be a different story this week.
"I will be making some changes. I think Rod Petty will probably get a start given the context of the game.
"He is a National League One quality player so I am looking forward to using him as a ninth forward."
The Stourbridge backline could be bolstered by the return of Simon Price at outside centre, while former England under-19 skipper Danny Pointon edged closer to the selection frame after completing a game for the development side.
Early signs suggest League Two success and failure is likely to be divided by the smallest of margins.
Only Otley have so far managed to remain unbeaten while three of the league fixtures last weekend were won by one score, two of them by ten points and one ended in a draw.
The outcome of the seventh was rather more curious.
Bottom of the league Redruth refused to come out after the break in their game against Cambridge after finding that many of their possessions had been stolen at half time. They were trailing 30-0.
