THERE was no sign of goodwill and Christmas spirit on Malvern's first team pitch as the home side, cold and clinical like the prevailing Northerly wind, served up their own six-try festive feast, on their way to the biggest Midlands One win of the season.

MALVERN 39pts, BARKERS BUTTS 13pts

Still buzzing from last week's win over Burton, and with the addition of Dave Merlin, the signs looked good early on as Malvern battled Barkers, and the elements.

All the early pressure came from the home side, and a line out stolen by youngster Matt Williams, saw a Paul Jenkin break and Dave Beech fed Simon Phillips for the first try of the afternoon.

Merlin provided an immense springboard from the base of the scrum and with runs from Cooper and Rob Young, a large of number yards were gained in pursuit of another score. Barkers reeling from the early blow struggled to get momentum and soon a catch and drive deep in the Barkers' 22 metre zone saw a barrel chested Sean Lancett take five players over the line for this first try for Malvern.

Malvern rode their luck and defended well with the away side's best chance to score in the first half limited to two wayward penalty attempts from Warwood.

Turning round at the half and with the elements Malvern hit top gear, good tight play from Hill and Handy saw a sniping try for Ian White against his old side. Longley converted, and apart from a Warwood penalty it was now becoming a champagne rugby occasion.

Veteran wing Dave Beech powered through several tackles for the next try as Malvern, moved ball from side to side on the field.

In a bizarre decision Barkers kicked off blind straight to Beech who with Jenkin, put flanker Alex Thomas under the posts within 30 seconds of the restart. It was a killer blow, but to their credit the Coventry side came back strongly with two tries as Malvern's concentration lapsed.

Fine work in the midfield from Richards and new boy Alistair Hills set up more attacking opportunities and a Steve Taylor charge was swept out for skipper Andy Longley to barge his way over for the final try of the day.

Malvern director of rugby Dave Robins was ecstatic with the result saying: "Our half term target has been reached, now we need another four or five wins to guarantee a creditable finish to our first year in the division."

Malvern will return to league action on January 5 with a home fixture to Potteries side Longton.