Rugby Correspondent Brian Dick delivers his half-term report on Stourbridge...

Given Stourbridge started the season with a set of circumstances more trying than Robert Bruce's spider, Neil Mitchell could be forgiven for heaving a sigh of relief at having reached the campaign's mid-point.

But the Stourton Park director of rugby is far from content and has expressed mild dissatisfaction at the way the first half of his side's National Two season has panned out.

Stour hover ninth in the table, have lost more games than they have won, appear to have only recently discovered a high percentage goal kicker and are burdened by an injury list that has attacked key positions. Yet there are mitigating factors.

Even before 2005-6 kicked off they were beset by a recruitment problem that saw James Matthews and Joe Ewens walk away from the club and former Pertemps Bees fly-half Mark Woodrow use them as leverage before flying off to Italy.

Then a month into the term and Australian prop Steve Taylor walked out for no apparent reason. Mitchell was tearing his hair out.

Even so he deems a return of 27 points from 13 matches to be insufficient: "We are not where I wanted to be - I was looking for fifth," said Mitchell before turning his attention to some of the key moments of the last three months.

"But for throwing away 14 points against Manchester and not converting all that pressure against Moseley we would have been up there.

"The Manchester game really knocked the guys and took us a couple of weeks to recover from," he said.

One mentions that particular defeat sotto voce within earshot of the Stourton Park clubhouse, the wounds are still raw. Leading 26-13 with just a quarter of the match to go 14-points worth of missed kicks seemed to count for little.

But then back came the visitors, amazed that they were still in the match, to win 30-26. It was the nadir in a year-long, 12-game winless streak at home in the league that was only ended last weekend.

Rather contrarily their away form has been superb. They have picked up wins in Halifax, Barking, Blackheath, Wharfedale and Harrogate, a sequence of results that have kept the proverbial wolf from Mitchell's door.

Most pleasing, however, is the fact that while, at various points of the season, they have lost to injury scrum-half Toby Handley, skipper Virgil Hartland, first-choice fly-half Duncan Hughes and openside Tom Jordan - all key players - their replacements have all upped their game accordingly.

Veterans like Jon Hall and Marcus Cook have filled in commendably at half-back and youngsters with unproven pedigree have come in and solved a few selection problems for Mitchell.

"Simon Homer, James Tideswell and Keith Fowles form most of my tight five and they are having to learn the game on the hoof," he said.

"I am having to speak to opposition props to see where these boys are messing up. It's a credit to them that having never played senior

National League rugby they are effectively learning on the job and doing it well too."

Homer has been the stand-out performer so far. He is a bulky second row who has grown into the role of ball carrier and lineout target and got fitter and better as the season has progressed.

"He has been tremendous. The only disappointment I have with Simon is, up until now, we have not been able to give him the amount of coaching he requires.

"We have had to develop him at squad training sessions. But we'll be able to do that over Christmas and he'll be even better for it."

Mitchell is genuinely optimistic about the remainder of the league programme. The home monkey is off their back and the squad is returning to full fitness.

"I am looking forward to it because with the personnel available to me like Alex Grove, Joe Ewens and the boys coming back from injury we have competition for places in most positions."

All of which should ensure the next home run Stour-bridge embark upon is one they care to remember. ..SUPL: