Stourbridge 18 Blackheath 19

Stourbridge contrived to lose to fellow strugglers Blackheath through second-half looseness and indiscipline after racing into an 18-point lead with a composed and purposeful first-half performance.

They gained a solitary bonus point and, having been leapfrogged by Blackheath and Halifax, now languish in the relegation places with a difficult programme immediately ahead of them.

The first quarter was all Stourbridge, with 19-year-old Worcester Academy fly-half Sam Robinson making his debut, planting huge touch-finding kicks and instigating running attacks, mixing splendidly spun long, flat, miss passes with short, snappy ones.

Full-back Alistair Bressington put over two of his three early penalties and then Toby Handley added a 12th-minute try.

Winger Jon Hall had fielded a Blackheath kick and cleverly put away Bressington down the touchline. His kick ahead was hacked on and grounded by scrum-half Handley, captaining Stour for the first time.

The home lead was 18-0 by 22 minutes when Bressington converted centre Cameron Mitchell's try from a fast, long, pass by Robinson and then Stour defended well against a succession of Blackheath lineouts in the corner.

However, concerted forward pressure by Black-heath finally reduced the interval arrears to 18-5 with a pick-and-pop try from lock Ally Vanner, before Stour self-destructed in a frenetic second half.

They were sucked into copying Blackheath's catch-up play, both sides running from anywhere and frequently passing to opponents, then played 20 minutes' with only 14 men.

They escaped unscathed the ten minutes which prop Adam Sturdy spent in the sin-bin, but not those of Handley - replaced thereafter by debutant Samoan international scrum-half Soane Havea - and conceded two tries in his absence.

Blackheath's replacement flanker, Alex Natera, went over in a penalty lineout drive, scrum-half Harvey Biljon did likewise from the base of another and Albertus Delport converted both splendidly from wide out.

In the final minutes, first Bressington, then Delport pulled wide kickable penalties and Bressington, accelerating clear from his own half, put the edge of his boot out of play.