Oakham RFC’s 1st XV marked their first home league game of the season with a hard-fought victory over Stamford College Old Boys at the Showground.
Oakham started strongly, producing an excellent opening five minutes, but soon found themselves under pressure as the penalty count began to build.
That allowed SCOBs to work their way up the field and eventually take the lead, forcing Oakham to regroup.
The response was impressive.
Oakham reduced the penalty count and began to find their rhythm, putting together some excellent passages of rugby. Support play was a real strength throughout, while a dominant set piece at both the scrum and lineout provided the platform for the Oaks to attack.
That pressure resulted in four Oakham tries, scored by:
Josh Skelham
Rhys Grieve
James Easson
James Agar
From the tee, Lewis Crellin was faultless, converting all four tries and adding a penalty to finish with a 100% kicking record.

The second half provided another test of Oakham’s character. Despite having to manage periods with reduced numbers, the side maintained their composure and continued to work hard for one another.

An unfortunate second yellow card eventually left Oakham with 14 men for the closing stages, but the Oaks showed plenty of resilience to see out the game and secure the victory.

Head Coach Jamie Ray was pleased with the way his side responded after putting themselves under pressure early in the game:
“We rallied round and stepped up in a big way. The penalty count dropped and we were able to score a couple of brilliantly worked tries going through the game. Our support play was excellent throughout and, with a dominant set piece in the lineout and scrum, it really gave us a great platform to play from.”

He was equally pleased with the composure shown in the closing stages:
“I felt we kept composure throughout the second half regardless of numbers on the field. An unfortunate second yellow left us down to 14 to finish the game, but the lads showed their resilience and fought hard to get the win.”

A determined performance, four tries, a dominant set piece and a 100% afternoon from the tee for Crellin made it a winning first home league appearance of the season for the Oaks.

Try scorers: Josh Skelham, Rhys Grieve, James Easson, James Agar
Conversions: Lewis Crellin (4)
Penalty: Lewis Crellin (1)