Stow 41pts, Gosford All Blacks 10

AS the score suggests Stow were worthy winners on Saturday when they ran in seven tries.

They started well with both the forwards and backs keeping the ball alive in the tackle and starving the visitors of possession. Gosford held out for 15 minutes, rarely touching the ball, before Stow opened the scoring.

From a five-metre scrum, Craig Chapman picked up and drove over but Nick Caffero edged the ball wide from the conversion attempt.

This was a wake-up call for Gosford who showed they were here for a game and a series of phases took them close to the Stow line where they crashed over. The try was converted.

The hosts hit back immediately as the forwards provided good ball for an eager back line to operate with and winger Jamie Whiteman scored in the corner.

Stow were dictating the game but the visitors were still very much in it and drew level with a penalty.

Just before the break, though, Stow regained the lead after the forwards kept driving closer to the line and captain Mat Hicks emerged from a pile of bodies to give his side a 15-10 interval advantage.

The second half saw Stow take the game by the scruff of the neck. A back peel saw Hicks gain ground and stay on his feet when tackled. A great off load to Mike Williams saw him score close to the posts leaving Caffero the easy two extra points.

With the final quarter of the game looming, Stow went further ahead. Gosford failed to clear their lines and Will Bevan used his pace to beat two defenders before passing inside to Dave Jones who had a clear run in under the posts. Caffero duly converted.

Two more tries were added before the final whistle as veteran prop Dave Abbott went over in the corner before Pete Taylor round off a great passage of play with a score close to the posts that Caffero converted to round off a splendid afternoon's work.