IN a quick fire start for the hosts, it took just two minutes from the first whistle for Bredon to work the ball wide to their left wing who went over in the corner with referee Rowley awarding the try which was not converted.

BREDON II 10pts, UPTON II 10pts

Adding insult to injury, within the next five minutes a mistake by Upton's full back led to a Bredon interception right on the half way line. A quick pass this time put the Bredon right wing clear for a second try, again unconverted.

At last the visitors settled into the game and over the next 30 minutes the Upton forwards began a period of sustained pressure by winning a series of lineouts. Intelligent play by half-backs Reeve and Drury made the most of this possession with a succession of ground gaining touch kicks.

Continual pressure from the Upton back row trio of Perrin, Earl and Jones meant that Bredon had no option but to concede a penalty, just inside their 22m line. Drury stepped up and slotted the penalty to give Upton their first three points of the afternoon.

Upton began the second half well and maintained a steely defence, despite some enthusiastic and skilful play by the Bredon backs. A number of potential Bredon tries were snuffed out by some big hits in the midfield by Upton centres Beech and Mills.

The next 20 minutes saw Upton take charge and from a lineout just outside the Bredon 22, second row powerhouses Bottomley and Williams drove the ball forward. From a resulting ruck, Reeve passed to Drury who fed Mills. Mills somehow managed to slip though two tackles and began a run that ended 20 metres later with a try under the Bredon posts. Drury converted to keep his 100 per cent kicking record intact. Upton were now on level terms with just 15 minutes to go.

A win was within the grasp for both teams, but neither gave any quarter. The final minutes saw end to end play in an exciting finale but no further scores.

The result was a fair reflection of what proved to be a thrilling second team encounter.