RUGBY: Stow rue poor turnovers as Buckingham come from behind to take the points

Buckingham 28 Stow 18

BUCKINGHAM handled the horrendous conditions better than visitors Stow in what was an-otherwise tight match.

Both sides to their credit tried to play rugby but in near-gale force winds the weather was always going to be a factor.

The early signs were good for Stow as up front they retained possession and made ground, but some poor tactical kicking resulted in hard-fought ground being given away.

A lost line-out resulted in the first try when the home side stole possession and crossed in the corner.

Nick Cafearo kicked a penalty to reduce the margin and then Stow secured a line-out close to the Buckingham line. The drive proved clinical and Dan Salvage scored the try.

There was nothing between the sides but Stow needed more points with the strong wind at their backs. A break from deep inside their own half by the forwards ended up with winger James Fletcher throwing a neat dummy and scoring close to the posts; Cafearo converted.

On the half-time whistle Stow went off their feet and Buckingham converted the penalty, leaving Stow leading by 15-8 at the interval.

An early yellow for Stow in the second half saw them under pressure, but again very poor tactical kicking resulted in lost ground.

A five-metre scrum was secured and with the extra man the home side scored in the corner. Stow hit back with a second Cafearo penalty but from the restart turned over possession, Buckingham went wide and scored in the corner.

With the scores now level Stow needed to keep the ball but again from the restart possession was turned over and eventually a close-range line-out was driven over the line and Stow were now behind.

With the clock running down Buckingham produced a a series of forward drives, sent the ball wide and a missed tackle resulted in a bonus-point try.

The defeat and the lack of a bonus point was hard for Stow to take as the game could very easily have gone the other way if they had handled the conditions as well as the home side.

This weekend Stow are at home to Wallingford.