Nick Alway reports

For the second time in three games CS paid the price for not being able to close out a game in which they were in clear water well into the second half.

Those who have followed CS’s battles with Tring over recent years will be well aware that there is quite a slope at their Cow Lane ground and when the first half ended with the Stags only three points adrift at 20-17 and the benefits of that slope to come the visitors had to be firm favourites. They had already scored two glorious tries and with parity up front there were no obvious clouds on the horizon either metaphorically or literally for the visitors on this glorious sunny afternoon. True, the efforts of stand-in place-kicker, James Houstoun, had been particularly comical on one occasion , when he had struck a ball as only he knows how, but this hardly had the look about of it of a game where deficiencies in that department were likely to prove critical.

Everything remained set fair as the Stags eased into the lead with another converted try shortly after half-time and stretched that lead with a penalty not long after. True Tring responded with a penalty of their own but that looked like a mere blip as CS struck back almost immediately with their fourth ( and bonus point) try to lead 23-32 with a quarter of an hour to go.

Critically, an intercept pass was then thrown with Tring’s line wide open, a 14 point turnaround effectively and a game that was surely about to be put beyond Tring’s grasp was now wide open again. Time for that scourge of CS over the years, Tring’s fly-half Tommy Newton to step up to the plate and weave some magic. The recent run of Tring victories in the fixture owes much to him and this was to be no exception.

First he opened up the gap for them that led to the score that took Tring into the lead. Then insult was added to injury as - chasing the game - CS made mistakes that took even the losing bonus point away from them as well and, finally, another deft touch from Newton brought the house down. A game that CS should have won had, by the final whistle, been lost comprehensively. It had been great entertainment but there were understandably some fairly rueful faces amongst the visitors.

CS Rugby 1863 scorers:
Tries: Lavea (2), Stamp (2)
Cons : Houstoun (3)
Pens : Houstoun (2)