STOKE captain Chris Rowley says the next two weekends can kick-start his side’s season.
It’s been a testing start for Stoke, with heavy defeats by Hereford and Lichfield either side of a 19-19 home draw with Kenilworth.
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HOME COMFORTS: Chris Rowley, right, says Saturday’s home match against Malvern is crucial for Stoke.
A raft of unavailability and injuries has hardly helped the Hartwell Lane club’s cause in the early weeks of the campaign.
But Rowley sees a chink of light at the end of the tunnel with a home game against mid-table Malvern this weekend and next Saturday’s trip to bottom-of-the-table Market Bosworth.
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“Saturday is a game we’re looking at as a potential win, especially with it being at home,” he said.
“Our previous home match against Kenilworth was a bit of a killer blow because we conceded a penalty try in the last minute which drew them level.
“When we’ve got home advantage it is important that we make the most of it, which is why we need something from this weekend.
“Market Bosworth the following week also gives us a chance, although we don’t know too much about them.”
Stoke were thrashed 69-10 at Lichfield last Saturday to slip to third-from-bottom.
They trailed 22-10 at the interval before the home side ran in eight unanswered tries in the second half to ensure an emphatic success.
Rowley says it was a harsh lesson for his players to take on board, with many of the team sampling their first taste of senior rugby after stepping up from the colts set-up.
“It is difficult at the moment because the young lads have only just moved up and, on the whole, they are doing very well,” added Rowley.
“It can be a bit demoralising and last weekend Lichfield had four or five 18-stone guys in their pack and we’ve got 13-stone youngsters.
“The disappointment was that we lost by so many points, but we’d travelled there knowing it was going to be a tough afternoon.”
Rowley says spirits are still high in the squad as they search for that elusive first league win of the season.
And he believes that putting in the hard yards on the training ground can have the desired affect ahead of their upcoming challenges.
Winning meaningful ball proved to be an issue last weekend, which hampered Stoke’s attempts to gain a foothold in proceedings.
“We struggled to get first phase ball. We were being shoved off at the scrum and didn’t win our own line-outs,” explained the Stoke skipper.
“We were left feeding on scraps, but take nothing away from Lichfield because they are a good side.
“It’s pretty obvious that we’re not strong enough and we need some stronger bodies to help us win that first phase ball.
“When we have possession and win set-pieces we are relatively dangerous, but it does take its toll on the players when all you’re doing for 80 minutes is tackling.
“We’ve been working on a couple of things in training to help us to have more ball and hopefully that will help us in the coming weeks.”
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/24153964
Rugby Union: Chris Rowley sets sights on first Stoke league win
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