Dunlop II 9pts, Pershore II 19

IN SURPRISINGLY good conditions and on a pitch that had stood up to the recent weather well, Pershore travelled to Dunlop with hopes of a pre-Xmas festival of rugby.

Unfortunately, they came up against opponents intent on spoiling their game and complaining about anything the referee did actually manage to spot.

To Pershore's credit, and the forwards in particular, they maintained their discipline well and, despite dropping to Dunl-op's levels in playing terms, didn't do the same in other aspects of the game.

Playing into the wind in the first half Pershore took the game to their hosts with outside half Dave Snell making some telling breaks and linking well with the forwards, for whom young flanker Rich was outstanding.

After a period of pressure it was Snell who opened the scoring when he found a gap and darted in for a try he then converted.

Dunlop then came back into the game and used the wind well to pounce on any Pershore handling errors and bang the ball back down the pitch.

Pershore defended their own line well and restricted Dunlop to two penalties before getting another score of their own.

From a quick tap penalty winger Mark Mills delicately chipped his opposite number and raced to the touchdown to give Pershore a 12-6 half time lead.

The second half became a dour affair with Pershore being unable to get a grip on the game and the referee constantly marching them back for another penalty.

Dunlop got a whisker of a chance with another penalty but again Pershore defended well and, after a dynamic Andy Stewart break from midfield, they got the final score of the game as Rich got the score he deserved. Snell converted to make the final score 19-9.

There wasn't such good news for the fourths in a local derby at Evesham.

Brian Witherford was the main thorn in Pershore's side as he scored a hat-trick of tries and landed a handful of conversions in a 40-12 success.

Pershore did hold on for about 25 minutes before Simon Hug-hes opened the scoring for a home side resplendent in new shirts provided by Ferryfast.

After Witherford's one-man show, there were further tries for Simon Beard and Mike Nesbitt.

The battling visitors gained late reward with two late tries, both converted but it was the hosts who ran out easy winners.