Exiles Battle Hard in Defeat
Birmingham Exiles 1st XV 5 - 29 Stoke Ob
Birmingham Exiles RUFC did all they could against league leaders Stoke Old Boys, but in the end the power and bulk of the visiting pack gave the Coventry side an advantage that saw them comfortably home.
The opening quarter was scoreless, E’s doing well to see of a sustained Stoke attack. Exiles then counterattacked from deep but could not get to he ball after it was hacked on into the Stoke in-goal. The home side came under pressure again, but won turnover ball and then gained a penalty.
However, the visiting pack were proving a handful in open play and, as half time approached, they set up a position from which lively stand-off Ben Griffiths went over for a try.
HT: Birmingham Exiles 0 pts Stoke Old Boys 5
Stoke returned to the attack after the break, and doubled their score when right wing Conor Slater won the chase to a loose ball to touch down.
A burst of three tries in ten minutes effectively wrapped things up for the visitors: Slater crossed between the posts for his second score, Griffiths converting, and further tries came from outside centre Calum Lines and one from open side flanker Hamish Cameron which Griffiths goaled.
Exiles though, refused to give up, and with Stoke conceding penalties as they strove to keep a clean sheet, they gained due reward when blindside flanker Hayden Pattison drove over for a try in the left corner.
Report by John Simkin
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