PERSHORE Rugby Club suffered a cruel 20-17 defeat at Old Leamingtonians.

The visitors were leading this Midlands Three West (South) game in the ninth minute of stoppage time until Old Leams crossed the line for the crucial score.

Indeed, Pershore dominated the game for the opening half, winning quick ruck ball at will and Sid Hirons, at scrum-half, had a field day.

A quick tap penalty released Adrian Hanson who cut inside before releasing Ben Pullen who scored underneath the posts.

Robin Haines converted but Leams hit back with two Canning penalties.

With Pershore playing an expansive game they were duly rewarded with two excellent tries.

The forwards put together six or seven phases of play and Pershore spun it out wide for Richard Jenkinson to score.

Then, a magnificent inside pass in the tackle from Ian Hurley set up Adrian Hanson who made no mistake with the finish. Both conversions were missed.

In the second-half, Leams used their only attacking weapon, the driving maul, as they cut into Pershore's lead with a try.

When prop Carl Evans left the field injured, the introduction of Russell Humphries meant that father and son Ben Humphries were playing in the same first team front row.

Pershore held out with some amazing defence until the referee added nine minutes of extra time, which allowed Leams to seal an unlikely win.