NORTH Midlands 18-Group rugby clubs put up stubborn resistance before they were beaten 35-14 by Gloucestershire in a friendly at Cinderford.

A try from Dudley, Kingswinford scrum-half Ed Nicholls and a penalty try plus two conversions from Yardley & District fly-half Ross Rochelle kept North Midlands in the game until the dying minutes when they ran out of steam.

Gloucester's powerful backs ran in two-tries in the last minute to produce a final scoreline which did not accurately reflect North Midland's contribution to an entertaining game.

The game was North Midland's final warm-up match before their opening game in the Midlands Championship against Staffordshire at Dudley, Kingswinford on Sunday, October 28 (2pm).

n The North Midlands Society of Rugby Football Referees is looking to recruit and train women referees. The move follows an increase in interest in women's rugby across the county with around a dozen North Midlands clubs now having women's sections.

A number of women have already expressed an interest in taking up refereeing and the NMSRFR, the organisation responsible for providing match officials for matches played in the county, is prepared to run training courses provided there is sufficient interest.

Any women interested in taking up refereeing should contact Kelvin Roberts, the NMSRFR secretary, on 0121 351 1473.