Pre Match
K's travelled to Stamford in a repeat of last year's fixture under the (new LED) lights on Friday 13th! Spooky! K's travelled without 13 players, absent due to Tigers commitments, illness, injury and unavailability. Nonetheless, we were able to take 20 players who we all keen to prove a point after the injustice of last year's narrow defeat. In particularly unpleasant conditions, Dylan, Will H, Alfred, Callum, Jacob and their parents are to be commended for coming to watch and support the boys:

1. George
2. Dan O
3. Joel D
4. Joel S
5. Tom H
6. Nathan S
7. Tom McD
8. Sam B
9. Wyatt B
10. Alfie O
11. Aidan S
12. Charlie U
13. Oscar H
14. Max H
15. Rhys S

Finishers
16. James Harris
17. Robert
18. Mason
19. Will M
20. Ollie M

First Half
K's kicked off the match playing up the slope but immediately knocked-on, giving Stamford possession. The first twelve minutes were then all Stamford, punctuated with K's conceding multiple penalties as Stamford started strong and K's somewhat architected their own downfall. The redeeming feature, however, was K's defence, which was outstanding to resist for so long. Despite that, Stamford finally found a way over the line to open the scoring with a converted try, 7-0.
At that point, K's kicked into gear and decided to play the game up the other end of the pitch. Thom H set the ball back well after a break, enabling K's first to probe right, then left through Joe D. K's had momentum and possession now, as Dan O stepped his defender and K's went back left, Rhys joining the line beautifully from fullback to draw his defender and feed Oscar who had the simplest of tasks to score in the corner, 7-5 after 20 minutes.
Four minutes later, K's were over again. It started with a clearance kick that didn't find touch, but a good chase from Max spooked his opposite man, who dropped the ball, which Max hacked forward, allowing Wyatt to appear and score K's second try, 7-10.
It took K's just another four minutes to score their third. A break from Charlie caused chaos in the Stamford defence. He kicked the ball forward and put huge pressure on the final man right on Stamford's try line, enabling Joel to score his fourth in three games! In harsh conditions for kicking, the conversion drifted just wide, but K's had a 7-15 lead at halftime.

Half Time
K's brought on their finishers, ensuring the half-game rule was observed.

Second Half
K's started the second half well, with a nice interplay between Oscar and Sam B. This gave K's quick ball from which Mason spotted the space and put in a perfect kick which stopped just over the line for the on-rushing Oscar to score his second of the game, beating the defender to the touch. 7-20.
Next to score was Sam, with a thoroughly deserved score for an outstanding performance. Something tells me he enjoyed that one, powering over in Sam-style. Wyatt added the extra points giving K's a 7-27 lead.
Again K's continued to dominate but couldn't quite get over the line. Stamford, buoyed by George, who agreed to play for them as their numbers depleted, managed to advance up the field, only for Charlie to step in and intercept, setting up a thrilling race to the line. There was only one winner as Charlie touched down for a score against his former club. 7-32.
There was little rugby played in the remaining 12 minutes, as the conditions made scrums and lineouts very hard. Despite Stamford briefly fielding 16 players, K's remained dominant. The final whistle blew and K's had vanquished the demons from last year.

Post Match
It was an outstanding effort from both teams and seeing the camaraderie after the game in the tunnels was lovely. That was another good performance from K's in really tricky conditions. There were some outstanding performances all over the park, from forwards and backs. MOTM was George, who showed exceptional rugby values by volunteering to play for the opposition. Just for the record George, if a fight does start, remember you play for K's! Ha ha ha.
Six tries to one reflects K's dominance. Amusingly, there is no record of the result on the Stamford website. It should be an interesting return game at Woodnook in March! Enormous credit goes to the ever-outstanding Hunts, who took the swamp-infested match shirts to wash after the game despite their son not playing. Thank you!

With next week's match against Derby cancelled, this victory marks the end of K's games in 2024. This season, K's have won 9, losing just 1, scoring 435 and conceding just 129. Outstanding effort lads. That sets us up very nicely for the remainder of the season. Our next match is an NLD Cup game against Ilkeston on 12th January.