Old Leams 8, Pershore 18pts

TRIES from Steve Holmes and Robin Haines clinched a hard fought league victory for Pershore last Saturday.

Haines added the additional eight points courtesy of his trusty boot, while the home side only breached the Piddle Park side's line on the stroke of full-time.

Pershore had to work hard to offset their opponents' game that is built around a large and powerful pack.

However, Widmer, Hope and Bassett proved a dependable back row, full of tireless running, strong in defence and raw aggression.

The visitors faced a stiff breeze in the first half but played intelligently as they kept the ball tight using their forwards to keep Leams on the back foot.

Adrian Hanson's break down the blindside broke the stalemate as his perfectly timed pass released Holmes who smashed through the covering defence.

Haines then kicked a penalty which was answered by the host before the break after a Pershore infringement at a ruck.

A 15-minute period of sustained pressure after the restart should have sealed the match in Pershore's favour but they failed to make their possession tell.

Wrong decisions and handling mistakes gave Leams a let off but another break from Holmes finally saw the visitors record a second score after Haines successfully chased man of the match Hope's kick ahead.

The scorer landed a tricky conversion and then made it 18-3 with a second penalty before the home side snatched a late consolation.

Evesham, meanwhile, failed to break their season's duck in league matches after a 39-8 defeat at the hands of visitors Ledbury.