UPTON were drawn away in this second round of the national cup competition and this meant travelling outside their usual area with a visit to the Leicestershire/ Derbyshire border.

CASTLE DONINGTON 23pts, UPTON 22pts

Both teams are top of their respective level nine leagues, so a tight battle was expected.

Playing up the slope but with a slight diagonal cross-field wind, Upton kicked-off and soon put Castle Donington under attack when full-back Alex Pimlow shocked the opposition with his turn of speed as he ran in from the half-way line to score the first try. Hooker Rob Heeley converted for 0-7.

Within three minutes Heeley had increased Upton's lead to ten points with a penalty kick.

Donington were stunned by this start and all they could muster were clearance kicks to touch and these were often sliced. They worked out that the offside rule was not being applied and they opened their score when flanker Brown, waiting where he should not have been, intercepted an Upton pass and sprinted 40 metres to the line, but the conversion was wayward.

Upton went back on the attack but again were forced back when another 'offside player' picked-up and set off with the line at his mercy and with three men in support.

It was only greediness on the part of Redmond and a powerful smother tackle from covering back Pimlow that prevented another unjust score. Play became very scrappy as offences were missed or over-looked due to a different interpretation of the laws and this left the half time score at 5-10.

At the re-start, Donington were once again left in awe as again Pimlow showed his expertise. A long kick up field was caught by Pimlow under his posts. Rather than just clear for touch he ran across the pitch and around three advancing players before straightening his run near to touch. He then increased the pace and sprinted 90 metres to the try line leaving a trail of bemused fallen would-be tacklers in his wake. Heeley converted from way out for 5-17.

Instead of feeling down, this score seemed to lift Castle Donington and within ten minutes they had drawn level at 17-17 with two tries and a conversion as they used their pack to drive on.

Upton were bemused by some of the decisions which seemed to be only going one way and realised that they had to get the ball out wide and away from the dubiously controlled area around the scrum.

Winger Chris O'Neill was keen to emulate Pimlow and soon he was powering his way down the line from half-way, breaking tackles to score in the corner to make it 17-22.

With ten minutes to go, Donington decided that they were not finished and kept the ball tight, managing to 'entice' two penalty awards which was enough to win the game by one point 23-22.

For the second week running, unusual interpretations of the game's laws have changed with the game. Although Upton did manage a 13-3 win against Handsworth the previous week, the interpretations certainly stopped Upton's progress this week. Clarity is needed.

This result means that Upton will have to concentrate on league promotion and the next league matches are both away, first against Redditch tomorrow (Saturday) and then against neighbours Bredon.