Kings Norton 8 Woodrush 5

KINGS Norton maintained their place in the top three but had to fight for the points in this hotly contested local derby.

Both teams were clearly committed to giving their all and league positions counted for nothing as they played their hearts out in an attempt to secure the honours.

Kings failed to take advantage of the strong downfield wind in the first half, choosing to run the ball instead. But with scrum-half Tim Hodson out of sorts, the superior possession won by the home pack was regularly wasted or turned over by an eager Woodrush back row.

The home side finally registered their first points on 25 minutes with a long-range Ken Whitehouse penalty but that proved to be the only score of the opening half.

From the restart the fast Woodrush three-quarters began to show their skills and attacked Norton's line at every opportunity.

With just eight minutes of the half gone a great back row break saw strong-running centre Dan Ashburn finish off an excellent move to touch down in the left hand corner for an unconverted try to give the visitors a narrow 5-3 lead.

Tight head Kings prop Philip Cooksey replaced Kevin Edwards and Frazer Lamont took over from the ill Hodson.

Kings Norton then began to impose their superior weight in the scrums & tight play but all too often they were thwarted by excellent defending & counter attacks by their rivals.

Veteran Norton second row Steve Farrell was replaced after some 15 minutes by South African newcomer Jan Van Der Walt and his presence was soon to the fore.

Kings then camped out in their opponents half and, despite some solid Woodrush defending, Van Der Walt broke from a loose maul on halfway, crashed through three tackles and released the ball to Lamont. Good running from hooker Gareth Cooksey and Jamie Clayton finally resulted in winger Pete Noonan outpacing the final two defenders and scoring in the right hand corner.

Woodrush then took the game to the Ash Lane outfit in the final minutes but with no recognised kicker available they failed to take advantage of two in-range penalties awarded and Kings held on to claim the honours.

Norton take a break from league action next week but may turn their attention to the North Midlands Vase and a match against Bournville at Ash Lane.

And there could be a return to action for skipper Matt Eagles following a calf injury.

Woodrush also take a break from the league next week.