REDDITCH captain Mark Rose is hoping his battle-weary players will be able to take a break this weekend after a gruelling few weeks.

The Bromsgrove Road side battled their way to a 23-19 victory over visitors Upton to keep them in touch with the leaders in North Midlands One.

Now the skipper hopes that a break in league action will allow him to rest his first team squad ahead of even more crucial games in the coming months.

Hadley and Andy Irvine both scored tries in the narrow victory with Will Wilson kicking the extra points.

Rose's only disappointment was his side's failure to add to their points tally after cruising into an early advantage.

Redditch's win means they are one of four sides on six points but the Kingfishers have the worst points difference of the quartet.