DROITWICH Rugby Club hit back from conceding two early tries to win 31-22 at Barkers Butts in Midlands Two West (South).

The leaders feared for their 100 per cent record when the well-organised hosts went 12-0 ahead after some uncharacteristic Droitwich errors in the first 20 minutes.

But the visitors led 19-15 by half-time in Coventry and eventually picked up a try bonus point to keep their lead of six over second-placed Malvern.

It meant Droitwich continued their winning run ahead of Saturday's RFU Midlands Intermediate Cup semi-final at Staffordshire side Leek (2pm) who are fourth in Midlands Two West (North).

Spa coach Blair Hunter said: “We made extremely hard work of it with some very loose play in the first 20 minutes and extremely poor discipline throughout the first half.

"That said, the boys showed a lot of character to come back in the second half to beat an excellent Barkers outfit.”

Droitwich tried to force the ball too much and were soundly punished by the two quick, well-worked tries with one converted.

Phil Horton and Mark Strutt were both sin-binned for over-exuberance and their team-mates did well not to concede more points during their absence.

Despite ongoing issues with discipline, determined Droitwich battled their way back with close-range tries from Poke and Pete Knight as well as one conversion from Bobby Scott-Walker.

Their forward dominance in tight play showed and a penalty try put Spa ahead by the break.

The half-time team talk was focused on keeping things simple and improving discipline.

The second period started much more brightly with tries from Russ Brown and Knight steadying the ship.

A determined Barkers team refused to let their heads drop and fought back with a well-executed, unconverted try.

A late penalty was missed by Droitwich who kept their nine-point advantage.