Stow 2, Evesham U-9 4

EVESHAM travelled in good spirits after the recent win over Bredon but they were immediately put under pressure and conceded the game's first try.

Forwards Ben and Kieran Jones drove forward, turning and offloading the ball for Kieran Sherwood to drive over for an equalising try.

Stow were on the back foot and player of the match Sherwood scored his second before the break.

Stand-in coach Mike Beirns gave the lads a half-time pep talk and sent Evesham back on to the pitch in high spirits resulting in Nathan Tomkotowich spotting a clear run to score a third try.

With Evesham's confidence high, Stow took advantage of a lapse in concentration from the kick-off and surprised the visitors with a quick set-piece reply.

However, the Avon Street youngsters responded with good ball skills from the whole team that allowed James Thomas to cross superbly in the corner.

Stow 3, Evesham U-10 3

EVESHAM hit the road with a feeling of trepidation, knowing that they hadn't beaten Stow this season only to produce one of their best displays of the season.

The hosts showed their strength by carrying the ball to the Evesham try line from the whistle where only excellent defence from Joe Beirns and James Will-iamson prevented them crossing.

The visiting scrum, spearheaded by player of the match Alex Stoddart with support from Adam Johnson and Alex Tarp-lee, drove their opponents back at every opportunity.

Stow, though, fought back hard and were rewarded with the first try in the corner.

The visitors kicked off with captain Sam Waller passing to fly-half Thomas Heneghan who, after one of his darting runs, passed to Jack Gillet who off-loaded for Matt Camp to equ-alise.

Stow came back in aggressive manner and replied with a second score just before half-time.

The second half saw a change in personnel with Jack Witts, Aaron Parks, Michael Harris and Henry Murray taking their places to defend against the onslaught.

Evesham were quick to level matters after a huge drive by the forwards that released Heneghan to score.

Again Stow fought back and took the lead but the match wasn't over!

Aaron Park's quick penalty caught the opposition off guide and his popped pass to Jack Witts brought the equaliser just as the referee was signalling full-time.

Evesham U-12 7pts, Stow 35

A COMBINATION of a slow start by Evesham and good attacking, running rugby from the visitors saw the Avonsiders on the defensive in the early stages.

However, they were unable to prevent Stow crossing three times to take a decisive advantage that served as a wake-up call.

The Avonsiders now started to come alive. Replacement centre Rob Elliott, alongside player of the match Tristan Walsh, and wingers Luke Head and Edward Worthington started to link well with fly-half Tim Stoddart.

The result saw the two sides become more evenly matched and Evesham started to play in the opposition half for extended periods.

Their best scoring opportunity came when scrum-half Luke Fisher broke down the blindside from a scrum but he was unable to link up with Stoddart and the ball was cleared into touch.

The second half saw Evesham continue to play good running rugby and grow in confidence.

The forwards, with Peter Johnson and Josh Critchley prominent, started to secure more possession from the loose play and scrums.

This enabled the backs to continue to attack and the reward arrived midway through the half when Rob Elliott broke through for a converted try.

Stow increased the pressure but good solid defending helped limit the Cotswold club to two more converted scores.