Stour hoping for easier ride
Neil Mitchell returns to his roots on Saturday, desperate for his Stourbridge side to give him a break.
Neil Mitchell returns to his roots on Saturday, desperate for his Stourbridge side to give him a break.
His promotion-chasing team left it until injury time at the weekend to overcome relegation threatened Wharfedale, just when it looked like their campaign was about to take a dramatic down-turn.
Ultimately, a James Tideswell try got his boys out of jail and Stourbridge recorded a 29-26 victory.
"I don't want to go through that again," joked the Stourton Park director of rugby.
"We were 19-3 up in the game and we had wave upon wave of attacks but chose the wrong areas. We didn't capitalise on our possession and Wharfedale were encouraged by that.
Wrapped
"They are at the wrong end of the table and are threatened by relegation so they certainly were not going to roll over.
"Ultimately, though, we woke up in time and won the game.
"There is certainly a winning pattern emerging for us but I would have liked them to have wrapped up the game earlier than deep into injury time."
Mitchell played colts rugby in the North East with Saturday's opponents Blaydon and he knows the club will offer another hurdle in what is fast becoming a thrilling race for promotion to National One.
Stourbridge are 11 points clear of third-placed Manchester with Otley sitting pretty at the top of National Two.
However, with last season's National Three North champions reinforced with loan additions from Newcastle Falcons, Mitchell is well aware that the weekend could prove a tough one.
Tough but possibly pivotal in the race for promotion. Manchester travel to Otley in one of Saturday's eye-catching fixtures and Mitchell is hoping for Yorkshire success to hammer another nail in Manchester's coffin.
"We've been very good away from home this season and we've ended a lot of home records including Southend, Cambridge, Waterloo and Otley so we go to Blaydon with a lot of confidence. But we know that we need to improve on last weekend's performance."
Mitchell looks likely to draft in hooker Jordan Page for the outstanding Ben Gerry who has a shoulder problem while backs coach Marcus Cook will slot into inside centre to cover the loss of Mark Eastwood after the former Worcester man tore his hamstring.
And he believes that the addition of Cook will make a big difference to Sam Robinson who is beginning to establish himself as one of the best number 10s in the league.
"Sam has the potential to go all the way in the game," added Mitchell.
"He is a confidence player and I think he struggled a little last week when his usual inside centre wasn't playing.
"I think Marcus coming in will make a difference to Sam who, I believe, is the best number 10 in the league. Sam, along with Tom Jarvis' outstanding form at full back, has been key for us so far this season."
Stourbridge are the beneficiaries this season of a recruitment programme which has plucked the best young talents from academies such as Worcester's and gives players a chance to play in a fiercely competitive league.
But, if Mitchell's side do realise their dream of promotion this season, he is well aware that the vultures will be circling over his young cubs.
"We know that if we win promotion, we will have to invest in the playing staff," he said.
"People will be interested in our players because we have a quality squad but I know my players are happy and maybe that is more important than money.
"Loyalty is maybe more important here than the pound. If we win promotion, we are going into National One, which is a big jump and we would need another five or six quality players to be able to compete at that level.
"But, we certainly aren't thinking too far ahead. We've got eight games to go and we need to keep on winning if we want to achieve our goals."
