An uncharacteristically flat Alcester performance, was punished by visitors Evesham in the second half, who ran in four tries in that period to register a comprehensive victory at Kings Coughton.

With Alcester missing some key personnel for this game, a reshuffle saw Dwayne Cruickshank fill in at fly half and Ieuan Hopkin return to the side at no 8.

Playing up the slope in the first half, Evesham started brightly and took the lead in the first few minutes of the game with a catch and drive try from a line out.

Alcester hit back and good ball retention through several sets of hands culminated in skipper Will Silk breaking for the line, only to be hauled down, five metres short but he popped to flanker Pav Sembakutigge in support, who dived over under the posts. Silk converted to put Alcester in front.

An already injury hit Alcester squad were dealt as further blow midway through the half when, centre Lewis Wright, one of the stand out performers of the season so far, was forced off with a back injury. He was replaced by Harry Wylie, in a move that forced another positional reshuffle in the backline.

The visitors reclaimed the ascendancy and after coming close to adding to their score, they did double their account with another try, just before half time to go into the break with a 12-7 lead.

With veteran campaigner, Phil Birks, on a half time to add direction and aggression to the forwards, Alcester started brightly up the slope and inside ten minutes of the second half, they forced a penalty in front of the Evesham posts, which Silk elected to take the points from to narrow the scoreline to 10-12.

Unfortunately for Alcester, that is as close as it got, as the visitors dominated territory and possession for the rest of the game to run in four more tries and give the result the comprehensive look that the second half performance, in particular, warranted.

Final score: Alcester 10 Evesham 38

Alcester will look to get some personnel back and draw a line under this performance, ahead of the visit to Bromsgrove 2nd XV on Saturday. Kick off at Finstall Park is 2.15pm.

Alcester 2’s made the trip to Harbury RFC for their latest league fixture.

Those on the sidelines were treated to good conditions and an entertaining game of rugby.

Alcester, playing in their yellow and black, made an impressive start, starving Harbury of possession and bringing a level of control and physicality which has been lacking in previous games.

Harbury did settle into their patterns and began to impose themselves and made good use of their younger, fitter players.

Despite the determined defence, gaps appeared and Harbury were clinical in converting their opportunities into scores.

As half time approached, Alcester were four tries down with nothing to show for their hard work.

In the closing minutes, a degree of control was reestablished. The forwards made good ground working in their pods and, more importantly, kept possession.

Pinning Harbury back inside their 22, a strong carry from Liam Tallent got Alcester deservedly onto the score board.

Harbury, with plenty of substitutes to bring on made some changes for the second half whereas Alcester had no fresh legs to bring on at all. However, when asked to make the required improvements in the second half, the team rallied together to produce their best 40 minutes of the season.

Two converted tries from Luke Spencer narrowed the gap and talk of a comeback was echoed amongst the home supporters. Alcester were now playing some excellent rugby but unfortunately had too much of a deficit to contend with.

Harbury did have the final word as they managed to bag another Try in the final play.

There were some outstanding performances from Alcester. Scott McGee keeping things tidy at full back, dealing with a lot of kicks and putting his body on the line.

James Roberts had a great game at scrum half, keeping his head and executing some great passes whilst under a lot of pressure. Joey Wheeler really stepped up, bringing a presence and a commanding voice to the pack. Dylan Robson looked really promising as he filled in at fly half. Finally the accolade for man of the match goes to Alec Aucott. A brilliant effort and some fantastic scrummaging.

Not quite the end result Alcester would have hoped for, but an outstanding effort and a performance to be proud of.

Final score: Harbury 2nd XV 38 Alcester 2nd XV 19

Report submitted by Alcester RFC