INFLUENTIAL scrum-half Neil Hodgkins made his long-awaited return for Redditch at the weekend.

But he was unable to prevent the Bromsgrove Road side from slipping to a 10-0 defeat at North Midlands North (One) high-fliers Upton.

Hodgkins injured his shoulder at the start of the season but came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of this match.

This was always going to be a hard fixture decided in favour of the side making the fewest mistakes. Unfortunately an error either side of the break allowed Upton to score two unconverted trys.

The first followed a strong Redditch break in to the home side's '22' only for the ball to be turned over resulting in the opening try.

The lead was extended early in the second half but it was far from one-way traffic with Redditch showing great commitment. This was highlighted by the impressive Glen Francis who was a constant thorn in Upton's side around the ruck.