THE playing conditions hardly encouraged open running rugby, but the Malvern U16 Pirates made an effort to impress against their opposite numbers from Ledbury, in the first derby meeting between the two clubs at this level for five years.

LEDBURY U16 5pts, MALVERN U16 Pirates 57 pts

The Ledbury U16 outfit is a new side to the local junior rugby scene, but already it shows it has bags of potential and talent. The way the squad stuck to the game and not let their heads drop in disappointment or resort to the 'rough stuff' in frustration, must be highly commended.

The wintry conditions and the heavy mud underfoot were great levellers for both sides.

The Pirates scored four tries in the first half with contributions early on from Phil Shore and John Brierly, followed by a try from a charge-down by the Pirates captain Will Bowen. A debut try from new signing Sam McCoy was from the top drawer and it was clear that McCoy was out to impress his new club mates with a tremendous performance in attack and defence. Three conversion kicks from four for Malvern's playmaker Tom Longley nudged the Pirates' lead to 26-0 at the break.

In the second half, Ledbury opened their account with a fine effort from their forwards who made the most of the slippery conditions to drive Malvern behind their own try-line before scoring.

But that was the closest the home side were to get to the Malvern line for the rest of the game.

When Malvern's man-of-the-match, Piers Harris ploughed through the Ledbury defence for Malvern's fifth try, it was one-way traffic right to the final whistle.

Further tries from Alex McToal, Jon Lewis and a second for Phil Shore followed soon afterwards, with Longley and Brierly adding the conversions to push the final score over the 50-point mark before Sam McCoy ended proceedings with a fine solo effort.

Gary Tolley, the Pirate,s coach, acknowledged his team's recent performances but warned his players against complacency.

He said: "The run-up to Easter is going to be tough with away matches against Bromsgrove, Dudley Kingswinford and Yardley, who are also finding their form.

"Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the squad's progress of late and the return of key players from injury and our new signings have really boosted everyone's confidence for the demanding fixture programme ahead."