DIRECTOR of rugby Neil Mitchell is pleased with Stourbridge's winning start to the season despite his team failing to claim a bonus point against Harrogate.

Stour returned from Claro Road with a 17-11 away win and Mitchell is happy for his side to get up and running with a long campaign ahead of them.

He said: "It was a strange old day overall. We dominated for the first 20 minutes but then the weather didn't help us. The conditions changed and it became hard to construct attacking rugby.

"Overall, it is good to get off to a winning start. I would have liked a bonus point but it is early days and there is plenty of time and 30 games this season.

"The main thing is we are already up and running and can now build on that."

Against Harrogate, Stourbridge kicked off their National League Two North season by doing enough to come out on top.

A streetwise Harrogate won the toss and used their sloping pitch to full advantage, adapting better to both the damp weather and referee. Stour had to fall back on dominance up front to set up attacking platforms that delivered two tries from short-range scrums.

Debutant fly half Gareth Bown slotted an early penalty before the visitors eventually crashed over through Chris Depper at the base of a scrum.

A neat linebreak by Harrogate’s fly half Callum Irvine was only halted by a last-ditch Cooksammy tackle, but a defender strayed offside in the lead-up giving Irvine a straightforward penalty kick at goal.

A Stour counterattack was halted when Bown hung on to the ball in the tackle and the referee then added ten metres as Stour failed to retreat immediately. This brought it into kicking range and Irvine duly landed his second.

Another tackle area indiscretion by Harrogate drew a warning and a penalty that set up a late first half assault on the hosts’ line.

A Harrogate forward was despatched to the sin bin, the penalty tapped and run, but after a sequence of drives Bown got isolated just short of the line and the ball was turned over.

It left the half-time score as 10-6 to Stour.

Robbie Hurrell and Drew Harper were introduced to give the pack fresh impetus after the break.

A turnover saw a Stour attack stall in the hosts’ midfield. With the defence out of position, Irvine made big distance before putting a grubber kick deep into the Stour 22. Jarvis gathered it but the hosts got enough bodies to the ruck to drive the defenders off and sub Noel Minkin was just able to evade Cooksammy’s tackle to score in the corner.

Coach Jon Higgins replaced Bown at outside half and fired a long punt into the in-goal that would have produced a try had Cooksammy managed to hold on to it in the air. An uncharacteristic spillage at a Stour lineout was hoofed downfield by the hosts who were now scenting blood, a last-ditch tackle inches short of the line by loan replacement hooker Jack Lea gave the defences just enough time to regroup, the defenders finally able to draw breath when a pass failed to go to hand.

The hosts upped the tempo and took a quick throw-in but the Stour defenders managed to flood the tackle area to win a penalty. Higgins’ kick at goal drifted wide, it was hoofed downfield to the covering Harper who drove straight back into the traffic near halfway. An unplayable call produced a scrum followed by a penalty award, Higgins’ second shot at goal flew wide but the clock had hit 80 minutes.

Stour will now welcome Luctonians to Stourton Park this Saturday.

"Luctonians are an abrasive side and are normally very affective at stopping free-flowing rugby," added Mitchell. "We will have to overcome that this weekend.

"It is our first home game and will really feel like the season has started."

John HIggins is set to return to the side for this weekend's game.