DROITWICH Spa RFC First XV finally got their league campaign off the ground with a hard fought 29-23 victory at Edwardians.

Spa's first Midlands Four West (South) success in four attempts came courtesy of a solid individual display from Matt Blackmore, who kicked four penalties and a drop goal.

Director of rugby Julian Bailey was relieved to get off the mark.

He said: "It's a step on the ladder, there's still a long way to go but this has just given us the lift that we need.

"I was very happy with the commitment and the way that the lads played, they showed a lot of determination and a lot of heart."

Spa started brightly and took the lead through a Matt Blackmore penalty but sloppy play allowed Edwardians to score and further lapses in concentration saw the hosts take a 13-3 lead at the break.

Droitwich made better use of their dominance in the second period, which allowed young winger Steve Duffield to score an excellent try from 40 metres.

A further try was added from Jim McKeown and Blackmore slotted two penalties.

The last quarter saw Droitwich on the rack, defending a slender 23-20 advantage but the defence was excellent and Edwardians never looked like scoring.

Droitwich broke out of their 22-metre area through Leon Hopkins and from the resulting breakdown Edwardians infringed for Blackmore to kick another penalty.

From the restart Droitwich again drove at the heart of the hosts' defence, allowing Blackmore to complete a good all-round display with a well-taken drop goal.

The Seconds won their first game in the Hereford and Worcester merit table with a convincingly 28-5 victory at Luctonians.

The hosts took the lead but from then on it was all Droitwich with two tries from Dean Goddard and one each for Phil Horton and Steve Poke.

Captain Dean Evans made sure by kicking all four conversions.