Holmes scores four as Stow unbeaten after14-try victory (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Holmes scores four as Stow unbeaten after14-try victory

4:00pm Friday 11th January 2013 in Sport

STOW-on-the-Wold brushed aside Gosford All Blacks 92-0 in the race for the Berks/ Bucks and Oxon Premier Division title.

They easily maintained their 100 per cent record and built up an eight-point lead over Chipping Norton, whose game was postponed, at the top of the table.

Stow dominated in every department and Nick Cafearo opened the 14-try haul after slipping through several tackles.

Turn-over ball saw James Holmes skate down the wing and dive for the corner which resulted in a try but also him having to leave the field injured for a while.

Stow then disrupted a Gosford scrum and the ball squirmed out with Craig Chapman reacting the quickest to go over. Another turnover in midfield saw Louis Chapman run clear and he offloaded wide for James Ford to score.

Joe Nott then broke and, with one man to beat, he passed to captain Tim Peachey for the run-in.

Just before the break, a loose clearance from Gosford fell to George Roddan and he beat a couple of defenders before slipping the ball to Holmes for his second.

With Cafearo converting five of the tries, Stow were out of sight with 40 points at the break.

The second-half proved even more fruitful and, when Cafearo ran out of his own half, Ford was halted just short of the line but back-up from Holmes saw him score.

The latter was soon over the line again after slick ball handling from several players.

Ben Ulmer then got on the scoresheet.

From the restart, Henry Teare collected the ball and made ground before offloading for Alex Kelly who raced in from distance.

Four more tries followed.

Roddan grabbed two, the latter being a 40-metre run-in, Louis Chapman drove over from close range after the forwards made good ground and Nott also scored. Cafearo had his kicking boots on, converting another six of the tries in an impressive, clinical team performance.

Stow head to Harwell on Saturday, while Chipping Norton host mid-table Aylesbury Athletic.