Gloucester Warriors 104

Redditch Ravens 8

A POWERFUL Warriors side proved far too strong for the Ravens who managed just a single try in each half.

The home side had too much and experience, taking advantage of a Redditch side wilting in the heat in the second half.

The game started promisingly enough for Ravens with the teams cancelling each other out over the first 15 minutes.

And the visitors could have taken a surprise lead when forward John Grafton went on a fine 40 metre break.

This stirred the Warriors into action and they began cutting large holes in the Redditch defence, opening up a 38-4 lead at half time, the Ravens score coming from Andy McGrann who darted over the line after some good approach play.

The second half started as the first had ended with the Warriors scoring at will.

The Ravens stuck to their task but, with limited substitutes on such a hot day, fatigue was bound to play a part. Influential second row John Hurst also failed to return for the second half after picking up an injury and this further hampered the visitors.

Gloucester rattled up 66 points in the second half while the Ravens' only response was a try from Tom Soloman.

The Ravens will be hoping to learn some lessons from this defeat and bounce back for Saturday's match at home to Coventry Bears (ko noon).

l Three Ravens players took part in a trial match for the South representative team. Although Aaron Cook, Dan Ashburn and Andy McGrann missed out on the final team, they gained valuable experience at Hemel Hempsted.