EVEN though they managed to pull-off a vital win against a physical Walsall side last Sunday, the Malvern U17 Pirates were bitterly disappointed.

WALSALL U17s 14 pts, MALVERN U17 Pirates 24pts

News arrived from Portway that Droitwich had managed a narrow 5-3 win against a very powerful Birmingham & Solihull outfit to claim the final regional place in the national U17 championships.

Up until the breaking news, the Pirates had enjoyed a good morning's work in a match that nearly swung against them in the second period except for some dogged team defence and real flair from the back division to seal the league points.

From the off, Walsall made their intentions clear and although Malvern won the ball from the kick-off, the home side forced Malvern to their goal-line with a very effective rush-defence. Nevertheless, the early shock tactics failed to panic the Pirates and play was returned to the half-way line with a towering wind-assisted kick from Sam McCoy.

The expected dominance of the line-out from Walsall failed to emerge and with Chris Reed stealing line-out ball with ease, Malvern went on the offensive. Play was switched from flank to flank in an effort not to draw in the big Walsall pack into the breakdown and eventually centre Phil Shore powered his way through the midfield to give Jack Knowles the chance to let loose the Morgans, Smith and McCoy, whose sheer pace outstripped the floundering Walsall defence and put Malvern 12 points in front after 20 minutes.

The powerhouse of the Malvern scrum, Ben Clewer, Joel Redman, Tom King, Andy Knott and David Wood, although far lighter than their Walsall counterparts, had a superb game thanks to their superior rucking techniques.

In the back-row, Reed, Hughes and debutant Jones tackled like men possessed, shutting-down every possible avenue of attack for the home side's backs. With all options closing fast and a stiffening, bitter wind in their faces, Walsall made a series of basic errors while trying to clear their lines, giving the Pirates the chance to extend their lead through the efforts of the Malvern pack; Redman claiming the try.

At half-time, Walsall brought on the 'heavy brigade' and with the cold wind on their backs, the home side's intentions were clear and the Pirates braced themselves for a long period of defending. Indeed the assault began very soon after the restart and now it was Malvern who needed to keep their cool as Walsall muscled their way into contention with two converted tries.

With the clock running down and the Malvern pack visibly under pressure in the scrum, Walsall sensed victory and opted to kick for corners forcing Malvern to dig deep to defend their line.

For 20 long minutes, play ebbed and flowed close to the Malvern line and try as they might, Walsall could not break through the determined Pirates defence.

Eventually, Walsall's frustration began to show and referee Mike Storey awarded Malvern a penalty close to their own-line. The sharp vision of scrum-half Jack Knowles spied a gap in the retreating Walsall line and with an explosion of pace and quick hands, the whole of the Malvern backline took flight and carried the ball out of danger; the final pass finding man-of-the-match Sam McCoy, who outpaced the chasers to seal the win with a seven pointer. The final score was 24-14 to the Pirates.

Despite their obvious disappointment of missing out in the national competition, the Pirates are now focused on winning the league title. With Droitwich busy elsewhere and their league matches classed as void, the Pirates are favourites for the title with a resurging Ludlow side looking to be the most likely challengers.