Listen to certain rugby podcasts and you will hear some ex players bemoaning the fact that rugby has gone soft. Tell that to two of the Stags players on Saturday who were injured, one a knock to the head which meant he took no further part in the game and will be out of action in line with current protocols and another who, in the last play of the game suffered what appeared at the time a very serious injury. Clearly in a significant amount of pain when the injury occurred, thankfully he was later discharged from hospital on Saturday evening. All the best to Ben Brooker for a speedy recovery from his tendon and ligament injuries and also to George Stevens. And a particular shout out to Stags medic Cydney Barlow. There is a significant responsibility placed on the shoulders of medics and physios at rugby matches and thank you Cydney for your care and professionalism in managing the situation with both players so well.

This was always going to be tough afternoon against the league leaders and so it proved. Seven minutes in and Stags were twelve points down. The second try in particular would have hurt Stags as it came from there being no guard at the ruck and Stags scrum half pinned at the bottom of that ruck. It was an easy pick up and run in for Tadley. Not only this, but Stags scrum was under pressure early on and it took some very good play from Niall Hanley playing at number eight to pick up the ball from a few retreating scrums to enable Stags to relieve pressure. Liam Cooper and Mat Cox were prominent in the early stages both showing skill with well measured kicks through to gain good position for Stags and even though nothing came from these kicks, Stags reduced the deficit on fifteen minutes with a great break and run in by scrum half Archie Durden Smith. The successful conversion by Cox made the score 7 - 12 and when a few minutes later Cox landed a penalty Stags were within two points of the visitors. Luke Fassam, just out from Colts, was putting in some very good tackles and it is always heartening to see young players coming into senior rugby and acquitting themselves so well in what is a significant step up, not so much is skill level, but most certainly in intensity and physicality. As the half wore on Stags had their best period of the game and although they had to be mindful of their spacing in defence and opposition overlaps out wide, the home side forced Tadley into giving away a number of penalties. From one of these, Stags created space and an excellent pass from Fassam put Alex Leadbeater in for Stags second try of the match and Alex's second in two matches. Given the pressure they had been under a half time score of 15-17 to Tadley was not a bad return for Stags and the home support would have been confident of seeing a close game continue into the second half.

It was not be though and that was the end of Stags scoring for the afternoon and however much it hurts, credit has to go to Tadley for not conceding any points in the second half. Instead it was one way traffic. Three minutes into the half the visitors secured their bonus point try and went on to score eight tries in total by the end of the game. There were some positives to take from the game however and a comment from the referee assessor in Kickers Bar after the game showed the importance of a having an experienced player in the front row. The assessor said that when Stags scrum was under pressure Graham Stewart knew what to do to stabilise it. As an independent observer that is worth taking note of. Graham does not always get the headlines but he has given a huge amount to us as a club and continues to do so. Another positive was the sheer will power the team showed in defence. Remember Tadley has scored twice this number of points in games this season and in spite of the difference in size between him and the opposition, outside half Freddie Durden Smith tackled with great ferocity. Others did likewise and the score would have been a lot worse had the will and endeavour to defend been less apparent. The other positive was the enthusiasm brought on to the field by the replacements. The experienced Neil Owen when he came on brought some structure to the back line with Neil instructing the less experienced players. And then there was the enthusiasm and strength of Skhathi Mthembu, who had little opportunity to show his pace but who had one very good run through the visitors defence. Well done Tadley and we will be looking out with interest for the result between yourselves and second in the table Henley II week after next.

Weekend off and then a trip to Maidenhead for Stags on 9th November. WIth only three points separating Stags from Maidenhead II let's hope for a closer game than on Saturday. Blues are at home to Winchester but most importantly our walking rugby team are playing in a tournament at Reading on the morning of the 9th. Watch out for the report on this one, highlighting undoubtedly the exceptional skill levels on display..... Thanks all round for Saturday, to the referee who is in the early stages of refereeing at this level, and who did a good job; to everyone who came along to support; to Louise and her team for providing after match meals in addition to catering for a wedding upstairs but most importantly to the players who as always gave it their all for our club.