Stourbridge 28 Wharfedale 7

Stourbridge secured a committed and opportunistic bonus-point victory over Wharfedale to complete their first double of the season and move them to within one point of escape from the relegation places.

Only two of the five tries in the contest were created, rather than poached; both of those were scored by the hosts.

Stourbridge could not shift Wharfedale with attempted rolling or driving mauls, were often shunted back in similar Wharfedale exercises and had their own scrums wheeled.

Yet their determined defence - often at the last ditch and once over their line - was breached only once, through a gift-wrapped present.

Stourbridge went ahead after 12 minutes when they turned over a Wharfedale ruck, full-back Jon Hall made initial inroads, centre Joe Ewens ghosted through the defence and left winger Alistair Bressington applied the finish.

Ten minutes later, Stour right winger James O'Brien made an interception in his own half and raced 70 yards for their second try. Then the leaping Ewens, only ten yards out, finger-tipped forward a high Wharfedale pass.

Just before half-time, a dust-up resulted in Stour-bridge flanker Tom Jordan and Wharfedale lock Oliver Renton being sinbinned. But, shortly after the interval, O'Brien's fine long break forced a penalty, kicked by Bressington.

That made the home lead 13-0 but, almost immediately, teenager Alex Grove telegraphed a delayed pass which was swallowed up by Wharfedale centre Mark Bed-worth, who converted his own touchdown.

Bedworth was the next to be sent to the sin-bin, Bressington punishing his deliberate killing of the ball with a penalty goal, but Stourbridge spent his ten-minute absence mainly in deep defence.

However, just after the hour, scrum-half Toby Handley kicked long from defence; the rapid O'Brien chased and charged down Wharfedale's intended clearance, hacked ahead and gathered a lucky bounce for his second try. Bressington converted.

Lock Simon Homer pulled down Wharfedale's dangerous maul, becoming the fourth player to be shown a yellow card, yet Stourbridge survived his ten-minute absence.

He returned deep into stoppage-time, but just in time for an attacking scrum from which substitute No 8 Stean Williams made a quick pick-up and burst over the gain-line towards the posts.

Stour kept the ball alive, Marcus Cook made a diagonal break from fly-half and sent replacement centre Cameron Mitchell over for the important bonus point try.