No promotion talk despite a perfect start for Stourbridge

That is not because he is superstitious about his side’s chances of promotion – they may yet prove to be non-existent once the RFU ratifies the league structure for next season – but because this year has been about coming out of the sport’s shutdown in as stable a state as possible.

No outdoor sport has been affected more than rugby during the coronavirus pandemic, with matches and training stopped for 18 months, but Stour have hit the ground running on its return.

“Nobody has actually mentioned that word,” said Mitchell when asked about his side’s chances of going on to achieve promotion. “At the moment we haven’t played several sides of significant consequence – we haven’t played Sedgley Park yet and the Rotherham game was cancelled.

“There are going to be some bumps in the road, but if we can keep these numbers of players and keep this resilience, we will be competitive.

“And this is not about promotion anyway, this is about coming out of the pandemic with a squad.”

The aforementioned leaders Sedgley Park and third-placed Rotherham Titans are also unbeaten, but have drawn one of their matches.

That leaves Stour in fifth, boasting a 100 per cent record and games in hand on the sides above them.

And Mitchell put their perfect start down to their strength in depth – their 37-man squad being supplemented by academy players from Wasps and Worcester Warriors. “We’ve had knocks and bangs, but we do have a great deal of resilience,” he said.

Their latest victory was a 30-20 triumph at a wet and windy Wharfedale – with Dan Rundle becoming the all-time leading try scorer in Stourbridge history with his 86th try in 106 matches.

Frederick Morgan put Stour ahead in the fourth minute, only for Wharfedale to respond a minute later with a try by Rian Hamilton that was converted by Thomas Davidson.

However, Morgan was on target with another penalty and then two tries before half-time put them in charge. Joseph Heatley and Kofi Cripps crossed the whitewash, with Michael Heaney converting on each occasion – giving Stour a 20-7 lead at the interval.

However, that 13-point advantage was whittled away, with Mitchell admitting: “Any other year it would have been 20-20 at best at that point.”

Stour would have one final gear though as Mark Harrison and Rundle both scored tries to not only secure the visitors a seventh consecutive victory, but also a bonus point – the sixth time this season they have got one by scoring four tries or more.

Next up for Stour is a rearranged trip to Loughborough Students on Saturday (4pm).

Meanwhile, Dudley Kingswinford were handed a lesson by Midlands Premier leaders Bromsgrove on Saturday, going down 85-5 despite an early Benjamin Rhodes try.