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Shipston on Stour 5 – Droitwich 32

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Droitwich travelled to Shipston on Saturday and came away with a victory.

Droitwich had the advantage of the slope in the first period on what was a very heavy pitch. But it was the home side who started more brightly, pressurising the Droitwich line. The visitors defence held firm, before a clever move saw Shipston squeeze home to take the lead. This seemed to spur Droitwich into life, with a clean catch at a lineout being driven forward for hooker Dan Protherough to get the touch down. From the re-start the ball was moved into midfield. Sean Walker put in a neat chip for full-back Ben Cottrell to outpace the cover defence to touch down. Duncan Hughes added the conversion.

The second half saw Droitwich increase the tempo and extend their lead with a penalty from the reliable Hughes. Then a slick back move saw centre Ross Coombes make an incisive break to link with Teddy Jones to score. Good forward play featuring Jon Andrew, Jim Richardson and James Shewell saw Phil Horton in space to race over to add to the Droitwich score. More good rugby, especially by the tireless James Davies, who had an excellent afternoon, saw Jones given the ball out wide to scorch home for his second of the afternoon.

This was a satisfying display by Droitwich and sees them still two points clear at the top of the table.

Reflecting full-back Cottrell added “We’re delighted to be at the top of the league at the half way stage, we’ll certainly enjoy the festive period, but know the job is far from being done.” Wise words indeed.

Photos are available in the gallery.

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