ALCESTER fielded ‘one side’ who were narrowly beaten 29-20 at Droitwich on Saturday in a friendly which could have gone either way.
The visitors conceded an early try but their man of the match Josh O’Connor was prominent around the park within the first half and set up tries for both Oscar Holland and Rupert Daffern.
Daffern scored another before half-time to give Alcester a 15-10 lead at the interval but Droitwich substitutions strengthened their squad in the second half and a third try for the home side levelled the score.
Phil Birks put Alcester ahead again after picking up and scoring from the back of an Alcester scrum but, despite their best efforts, Alcester were tiring and their defence weakened, allowing the home side to run in two more tries before the final whistle to claim victory.
Against a huge pack, Alcester’s forwards did well to win a fair share of the ball and away from the set piece Alcester’s ball carrying stretched the home team defence throughout, so there were definite positives to take forward into the return to league action this weekend.
Both teams play Old Leamingtonians, with the first XV welcoming the current third-placed side to Kings Coughton in Midlands Three West (South), whilst Alcester 2nds are away.
