Kidderminster Carolians RFC retained the North Midlands Shield in a tense final against Old Veseyans on Sunday, winning by 23 points to 16, to finish their season on a high.

KCs took some time to settle into the game, and a number of unforced errors allowed Veseyans to build early pressure. After just 5 minutes they opened the scoring with a simple run-in from their full back after they created an overlap on the left, and the successful conversion gave them a 7 - 0 lead.

Veseyans continued to enjoy the bulk of possession and territory, but solid KCs' defence kept them at bay. Veseyans ran the ball at every opportunity in an effort to outflank the defending champions, and enjoyed some success, without adding the finishing touch. A yellow card after 22 minutes for KCs' prop, Matt Rigsby, for persistent offences (two of them) gave Veseyans a numerical advantage in the forwards, and they increased their lead to 10 points with a penalty after 27 minutes.

Andy McClellan cleared the defensive lines with a couple of long touch kicks, and KCs finally started to string some phases together and exert some pressure of their own. A yellow card for the Veseyans prop evened up the numbers, and KCs spent the last ten minutes of the half camped in the opposition's 22 metre area. Infringements at the breakdown allowed Veseyans to repel the attacks, until on the stroke of half time Ryan Wainwright found some space to charge over for a try, converted by Rhys Pritchard, to make the score 10 - 7 to Veseyans.

KCs raised the tempo straight from the kick off in the second half, and a penalty at the first breakdown was converted by Pritchard to bring the scores level. George Morgan set up the next attack with a strong run from defence, but Veseyans ran the ball back and were awarded a penalty that was converted to put them back in the lead, 13 - 10.

The game opened up as both sides tired, with first one side then the other having good try scoring opportunities. However, a combination of good defence and handling errors prevented any further scores until 17 minutes into the half. A deep kick from Chris Pinner, with a good chase, forced a knock-on by Veseyans in their own 22, and when KCs were awarded a penalty Pritchard again stepped up the level the scores.

KCs continued to be penalised for a variety of offences, a number of which baffled players and spectators alike. They lost 20 metres for questioning the referee's decision after one such incident, giving the Veseyans kicker a simple opportunity to regain the lead.

KCs threw everything they had into the final 20 minutes, with each of the replacements making an impact when they entered the fray. The Baldwin brothers, Nathan Small and Ryan Tiene all had strong runs into the heart of the Veseyans defence, as KCs started to gain the upper hand. Another strong run from Morgan saw him almost break through, but a last ditch grab at his shorts just stopped his progess. Veseyans were starting to feel the pressure now, and a further Pritchard penalty on 34 minutes levelled the scores yet again.

KCs kicked deep again from the kick off, and a Veseyans fumble gave them good field position. The KCs forwards were under pressure at the scrum, but a good handling move involving Morgan and Tiene down the blind side created space, and Morgan's perfectly timed offload gave Tiene space to charge over in the corner to give KCs the lead for the first time in the match. Pritchard rounded off an excellent display of goal kicking with the conversion from the touchline, and KCs headed into the final minutes leading 23 - 16.

Veseyans were not finished though, and they broke out of defence with time running out, and created a huge overlap on the right. Their tired forwards could not collect a wayward pass however, and KCs hung on for a hard fought victory.

Updated 11:21 - 8 May 2017 by Nicky Small