Stortford well and truly over slump

BISHOP’S STORTFORD continued their return to form with a dominant performance.

Barnstaple were buoyed by a win in their last home outing against Clifton but hopes of an upset were soon dashed.

Stortford raced into a 21-0 lead in the opening 25 minutes with tries by Jimmy Rea, Tom Coleman and Steve Ball – all from strong set-piece work and all converted by Tom Banks.

Jordan Petherbridge got the hosts on the board with a penalty before Sean Edwards went over from a catch and drive before half-time and Will Simmonds put Ryan Hutler over in the corner soon after the break.

After back-to-back defeats against Old Elthamians and Canterbury, Stortford regained their form with a 55-0 thrashing of Clifton last week. They scored two tries in the last ten minutes at Barnstaple to ensure a similar margin.

Oli Jones wriggled through before the excellent Banks darted over in the corner and converted for a personal haul of 15 points.

Injury-hit Barnstaple held their own – helped by three yellow cards for Stortford. Jake Childs, making his debut on loan from Taunton, scored from a lineout drive but Barum were denied any more by some outstanding defence.