DROITWICH bowed out of the North Midlands Shield at the quarter-final stage after a 13-5 home defeat by local rivals Kidderminster Carolians.

The strong, blustery wind made it difficult for both sides, and the contest was an error-ridden affair.

Droitwich had the advantage of the elements in the first period, but it was the visitors who dominated the early exchanges.

Good defence by Droitwich's James Davies and Steve Poke was all that managed to keep Kidderminster at bay.

Once Droitwich found their rhythm, they played some clever rugby and spent a large period of time in the Kidderminster half.

Despite winning some good attacking line-outs, Droitwich were unable to create a clear-cut scoring chance and the half-time interval arrived with the score still locked at 0-0.

The second period saw Kidderminster use the wind to their advantage and take the lead with a penalty.

Droitwich then played their best rugby of the game and managed to keep the ball alive through several phases.

A strong carry by skipper Nick Godfrey saw centre Ben Cotterell run an excellent line to power over from 30 metres.

The score remained 5-3 for much of the half, before the visitors restored the lead with a penalty.

Droitwich were now desperately trying to get back into the game, but a quick three-quarter move by Kidderminster saw them seal the game with a try.

Not one of Droitwich's better performances, but credit must go to Kidderminster who did the simple things a lot better than the home side.

n Droitwich Under 15s travelled to Coventry to play Broadstreet and came from behind to record a well-earned 10-7 win.

The first-half saw Droitwich kicking into a strong breeze, but they managed to put Broadstreet under a lot of pressure.

Broadstreet opened the scoring after a missed tackle unlocked Droitwich's defence.

Droitwich then came back strongly with Harry Baillie replying with a try next to the posts from a five-metre scrum. Bobby Scott-Walker's conversion levelled the score at 7-7.

The second-half saw both teams looking for the winner, but it was a Scott-Walker penalty that handed Droitwich the victory.

Droitwich then closed out the game through good defence.