Stamford College Old Boys 1st XV traveled to Northampton Mens Own last weekend in their league opener, which ended in a 20-20 draw thanks to a late score from Mens Own.

Once underway, Mens Own applied the early pressure. Their fly-half managed the game excellently, navigating his side up the pitch through hard runs from their forward pack. The Old Boys absorbed the pressure well, as storming tackles from the likes of Callum Fraser, Jamie Jenkins, and Jonny Beall kept the attack from converting pressure into points. It became clear early on that the Old Boys had the upper hand at the scrum and lineout.

That was until the College conceded a penalty at the breakdown. Mens Own kicked deep into the Old Boys half, earning a lineout 5 meters from the try line. A well-worked move saw the Mens Own tighthead crash through the Old Boys defence and over the line. The kick was good and the home side led 7-0.

The Old Boys proved quickly they were still in the game, as Tiago Rodrigues won the possession at the kick off. A back-and-forth game ensued as the Stamford side continued to make impressive yards, but the penalty count prevented them from getting over the line.

One particular phase of play saw the College awarded a penalty which was kicked for touch. Sam Duncan was hitting the mark all afternoon as the ball moved quickly from the lineout to fly-half Haydn Johns, releasing Jonny Beall, who carved through the Northampton defence for an impressive 20-meter gain. He offloaded to speedster Harry Bell who was brought down just shy of the try line.

Mens Own cleared their lines and put some impressive phases together themselves, finding themselves deep in the Stamford half. However, the College defence held strong, which is why the Northampton fly-half opted to kick a drop goal to extend their lead. Northampton led 10-0.

Tiago Rodrigues once again collected the kickoff, and the Old Boys continued to mount pressure on the Northampton defence. After the College forward pack opted to pick and go successfully for multiple phases, pulling the Mens Own defence tight, space opened up out wide. Recognizing this, scrum-half Niles Prior shipped the ball wider to skipper Jamie Jenkins, who offloaded to Haydn Johns, who would cross for Stamford's first score of the afternoon. The conversion was missed but the scores tightened, 10-5.

Stamford were quick to score again. When Northampton's kick-off went straight out the Old Boys were awarded a scrum on the centre mark. Thanks to the clean platform at scrum time, fly-half Johns broke down the blindside, making vital yards. After another phase from the College forward pack and another dominant Jonny Beall run, the ball was shifted wide to Carl Brierley-Lewis, who calmly completed a 25-meter run to score in the corner. The kick was missed, but the scores were level at 10-10 as the first half concluded.

The second half began, and within minutes, Jonny Beall put in a monstrous hit on his opposite number - setting the tone. It didn't matter, as a series of Stamford penalties saw Mens Own work their way up the pitch until they were awarded a kickable penalty to reclaim their lead, 13-10.

The rest of the match saw Stamford continue to mount pressure on Mens Own, however their ill-discipline remained a roadblock to building the scoreboard. Eventually, Mens Own was awarded a lineout 5 meters from their own try line. The Old Boys stole the ball, and after several phases Russ Polson crossed the line on his league debut. Johns converted and the Old Boys led 13-17.

Johns wasn't finished there as he added a drop-goal to his personal tally just minutes later, extending the College lead to 13-20 with just ten minutes left to play.

In the closing minutes, fly-half Johns exited the Stamford half. Mens Own identified space on the other side of the pitch, opting to kick the ball through and chase. Thanks to the pressure of Carl Brierley-Lewis and Haydn Johns, the Northampton winger could not gather the ball, knocking it forward, and Stamford was awarded a scrum just off their own try line - a sigh of relief.

Thanks to some front-row dark arts, the ball quickly moved to the Northampton side of the scrum, and their number 8 picked and crashed over the line, a score their fly half converted to level the scores at 20-20.

Not satisfied with a draw, the Old Boys opted to keep the ball in play for the final moments, marching their way up the pitch. Impressive runs from Jimmy Twose and Tiago Rodrigues saw Stamford just meters from the winning score. Fly-half Haydn Johns positioned himself for the drop goal, and it looked for a moment like the College would come away with the win they deserved. Unfortunately, a messy breakdown meant the ball was knocked on before being kicked, and the referee concluded the match. Mens Own celebrated like they had won the match, while the College players were devastated with the outcome.

This weekend the Old Boys welcome Luton Rugby Club to Stamford Welland Academy, for what is sure to be a thrilling encounter.