On a blustery afternoon KC’s followed up their first win of the season last week with a comfortable win in the 2nd round of the RFU Intermediate Cup at Old Yardleians who are currently propping up the table in Mids 2 West (S) and in truth did not really pose too many problems as an attacking force.

The home side’s kick off was knocked on by Kidderminster to concede a scrum just inside their own ten metre line which enabled the hosts to string together some early phases but having made barely any yardage they then knocked on themselves and to make matters worse lost their fly half with an injury that unfortunately ended his match almost before it had begun.

KC’s first impact on the game came in the tenth minute as an attack sparked by strong runs in midfield by second row Simon Clarke,prop James Rigsby and then No 8 Jess Smith saw the ball reach Jake Shellis on the left wing who appeared to be impeded when he tried to chase his kick ahead into the in goal area but the ref saw nothing untoward and gave a 22 drop out.Three minutes later another Kidder kick forced Yards to drop out again and return possession to the visitors who took play up to the five metre line where they won a penalty.They opted for a scrum from which for the second week running Smith powered over to open the scoring and skipper Chris Pinner added the extras with an excellent conversion in the windy conditions.

Following the restart some sporadic Yardley attacks were snuffed out without much too much difficulty and after another strong run by Smith flyhalf Chris May-Miller poked through an astute kick for Shellis which resulted in a Kidder lineout thirty metres out but their progress was halted by an accidental offside.Shellis then almost picked off an interception but was penalised for a deliberate knock on and both sides were increasingly making unforced errors which disrupted the flow of the game until on the half hour mark another surge by Smith,who Yardley were finding hard to contain,was supported by blindside Scott Lovell and a clever pass by May-Miller kept the move going until KC’s were awarded a penalty thirty metres out which Pinner dispatched with minimum fuss to extend the advantage to 10-0.

A break by prop Ryan Wainwright then had Yards scrambling back to hold up KC’s right on the tryline but more good close range work by the forwards was expertly finished off by lock Jack Tunstall to increase the lead to 15-0,KC’s were now playing with more confidence,moving the ball around well,and although they missed a penalty opportunity from the 22 they were well on top and it had been a pretty satisfactory first forty minutes.

The second half began slowly but after five minutes a Yardley lineout fifteen metres out was overthrown and went straight to Smith at the back and his charge upfield took play to the ten metre line where debutants Matt Grainger,on as a replacement,and winger Kieran James maintained the momentum before the No 14 was tackled into touch and the hosts were now back in their own half.Yards secured their throw this time but were held up in midfield by flanker Mike Protheroe and from the resultant Kidder scrum possession fullback Sam Taylor ran a really good line to get on the end of a floated pass by May-Miller but,looking for support when he could probably have gone himself,the attack was thwarted just short of the tryline .

KC’s then rather went off the boil and the home side began to see a little more of the ball without ever raising any major concerns for the visitors well organised defence which was in their opponents faces all afternoon and Yardley were no doubt relieved to see Smith limp off injured.After a period of scrappy play,some good Kidder counter rucking won turnover ball on Yards ten metre line and then Taylor fielded a long clearance kick to set Shellis off on a run but the winger was forced into touch.

Ten minutes from time the second half stalemate was broken when Pinner worked the short side from a ruck deep in Yards 22 to put Grainger in at the right corner.Pinner improved the try with a terrific conversion from the touchline to more or less kill the game off at 22-0 but a flurry of late penalties for Yardley kept them interested and with time almost up they were rewarded with a consolation converted try although the visitors could still reflect on a job well done.

Next up for KC’s is a trip to Crewe & Nantwich for a league fixture on 14th October - KO 3.00 pm.