Old Yardlieans 15 Droitwich 15

THIRTEEN-MAN Droitwich put in a battling second-half display to come from 15-0 down to draw the match in dramatic circumstances scenes.

Spa suffered a slow start and found themselves trailing by 15 unanswered points in the first half against the wind, and, to add to their troubles, had a man sent off for disciplinary issues.

After harsh words at half-time. the visitors started to up their game. However, after another penalty for ill-discipline, issues another man was sent off for Spa.

With their backs against the wall and two players short, the away side now played with an aggression and determination not seen in the first half.

A good run by Russ Brown allowed Steve Poke to snipe around the breakdown and feed the veteran winger veteran Simon Pearce to dive over in the corner to start the fight back.

Old Yardleians now had their backs to the walls and simply couldn’t handle the pace of the play from the Spa side, despite having two players more less.

With five minutes to go, a good break from Scott-Walker allowed for Luke Topping to produce a great solo finish to score in the corner.

Scott-Walker converted.

With the clock ticking down, Spa were now awarded a penalty on the half way line and which Scott-Walker stepped up to calmly convert the kick and ed to land his side a share of the points.

This was a very fine second half display by the young Droitwich side considering there was only ever three recognised backs on the pitch from the first whistle.

Topping said: “It was great to bag a try having to play at centre for the first time in my career.

“I’ve got to thank coach Rob Bray for taking a chance on me and believing in me.”

Meanwhile, Droitwich U8s sealed their second festival win of the season with victory in the prestigious Banbury Festival.

Unbeaten through the tough group stages and with a narrow semi-final victory against Amersham and Chiltern, the boys saw off hosts Banbury A in a tense final, winning 4-2 after extra-time.

The U12s played in Northampton Saints’ junior tournament but did not progress beyond the group stages.

The eventual winners of the tournament were rewarded with a chance to walk out at onto Twickenham.