North Midlands 20 Durham 12
North Midlands' success over Durham keeps them on track for a County Shield final appearance at Twickenham for a second year running. A draw in Oxfordshire next Saturday would suffice.
It was a rare event this season, a victory for Stourbridge shirts on home turf, Mids having been required to make a late change into the club strip because of a perceived colour clash.
Fittingly, all Mids scorers were Stourbridge men, flyhalf and captain Duncan Hughes, wingers Jon Hall and Mark Wilson and No 8 Howard Dawson, the lastnamed being without a first XV appearance for the club this season.
Hall's third-minute try followed a swift attack up the right, play being quickly switched left by two long mispasses, by scrum-half Gareth Davies and Hughes.
Davies, the Dudley Kingswinford centre back after several months out injured, was reverting to his original regular position. He enjoyed himself hugely.
Dawson scored from a penalty line-out drive touchdown but Durham, whose handling had been fallible, replied when half-backs Rob Stewart and Paul Lee made an unconverted try for Tony Irwin.
Luctonians prop Ben McGowan knocked on a scoring chance for Mids, who then had two major let-offs as Stourbridge centre Ally McLaughlin was adjudged to have got beneath a Durham drive-over and next Stewart lost the ball forward in plunging over.
Hughes kicked a penalty goal and a conversion after he had charged down a Durham kick just inside his own half and Davies quickly fed Wilson, who raced in from 50 yards. When Malvern centre Mark Eastwood lost the ball in contact on halfway, Durham's hack- on bounced kindly for winger Ian Coulson to score. David Glendenning converted.
* Warwickshire lost 48-13 in an eight-try thrashing by Gloucestershire at Nuneaton. Glenn Bond, of Rugby, kicked a penalty and Nuneaton hooker Stuart Gibson and Kenilworth centre James Hersey scored tries.
* Staffordshire ended their County Plate campaign with a 31-25 loss to Leicestershire at Lichfield, Loughborough College centre Andy Wright scoring three tries for the visitors. Staffordshire's Stafford duo, lock Matt Aston and hooker Liam Wordley, scored one and two tries respectively. Lichfield's Russell Clarke kicked two conversions and two penalties.
