Oakham Rugby Club defeat Stamford in Midlands 2 East (South) derby

Oakham took the derby day plaudits against Stamford as they recorded their first win of the Midlands 2 East (South) season on Saturday.

The Rutland side had recorded a victory double in the last two meetings of the clubs when they both gained promotion in the 2019/20 season.

And they repeated the feat on Saturday with a 22-15 victory in front of a large crowd at the Showground after a display that delighted Oaks skipper Ryan Corner.

He said: "It's been a tough start to the season for us, due to some really key players picking up injuries so to get this win was massive for us as a playing squad.

"It's never a game you need to find motivation for but the players turned up in the perfect mindset.

"Having took early dominance in the set piece, especially the scrums, we were able to capitalise on that and get an early score.

"Stamford then came back with their own score but luckily this didn't hinder our progress and we were able to control the game really well.

"Our defence worked tirelessly and our backs used smart kicks to keep us safely out of our own red zones.

"It was also great to see the touchline alive with supporters from both sides making it a great day and big thanks goes to them for coming down and cheering us on."

Stamford had made the short trip with high expectations following a solid start to the league season that had already produced three wins.

Playing against the breeze in the first half, Town applied the early pressure but good Oakham defence and poor organisational play meant they were unable to register a score.

Oakham then took early dominance in the setpieces, especially scrums, and their defence controlled the game pretty much.

Both sides were cancelling each other out but, as the half progressed, it was the home side that were making the most of their opportunities by forcing Stamford onto the back foot.

Midway through the half Stamford were forced to reshuffle as they lost Ramsden to a yellow card and poor defence allowed Oakham to break through for a try that was scored by Will Bell and converted by James Tattersall.

Stamford were using the back row to try and break the line but the home side held firm until shortly before the break when Aus Schwartz made a blind side break and scored in the corner to make the half time score 7-5.

Playing with the wind advantage, Stamford started the second half well and after a good break by Michael Allan he found Martin Bagnall in support to score a try to take the score to 7-10.

Oakham raised their game and hit back with a penalty through Tattersall after Stamford had another yellow card for a high tackle and at 10-10 the game was in the balance.

From this point Stamford's game started to go astray as passes were dropped or badly delivered and ball retention suffered.

Oakham seized on this and midway through put together a good attacking move down the middle for a try from Henry Hives which Tattersall duly converted.

Town tried to hit back but more errors saw the ball lost and the hosts skinned the Stamford defence out wide to score in the corner through James Beanland and increase their lead to 22-10.

Town replied with some desperate attacking moves but were unable to crack the Oakham defence until the closing minutes when Jack Jones burst through to score a try to make the final score 22-15.

Oakham: Cooper, Grieve, Corner, Gant, Crellin, Stimson, Bell, Beanland, Lammin, Tattersall, Williams, Janes, Rosillo, Lamb, Milnes. Subs: Hives, McKie, Andrews.

Stamford: Ramsden, Durrant, Cade, Chisholm, Small, Kendall, Nettleton, Jones, Smith, Downer, Allan, Schwarz, Bagnall, Anderson, Bentley. Subs: Green, Rook, Howard.

Stamford now face a tough test this weekend against unbeaten league leaders Olney while Oakham travel to Vipers.