Match report courtesy of Ian Bletcher
Photo courtesy of Paul Hickey

Kidderminster Carolians RFC’S preparations for this important cup tie were considerably disrupted by a crash on the M6 delaying the arrival of their Cheshire opponents by nearly an hour after the scheduled kick off time. Undeterred by the distractions KC’S got off to a strong start against a big, physical Crewe team who used their heavy centre and No.8 to test the resolute home defence.

Jess Smith Scored a good try after 5 minutes which although unconverted set the tone for the rest of the 1st half with strong defence and excellent handling by the Kidderminster side countering strong individual ball carrying by the visitors.
Arthur Morgan extended the lead to 12- 0 with a try converted by Chris Pinner after 8 minutes. At this point it looked bleak for the visitors as Kidderminster were combining well with both forwards and backs attacking space and the regular supply of good ball being used to stretch the visitor’s defence at every opportunity.

Inspirational captain Mike Protheroe added a converted try after 15 mins and this was quickly followed by prop Matt Rigsby showing exceptional pace and agility to score a great try which although unconverted extended the lead to 24 - 0 in favour of the home side.
A good breakaway try by the Crewe winger who showed considerable pace to outpace the defence was converted and sparked a mini revival by the visitors. Had the away side relied less on the crash ball in the centre and used their pacey outside backs to greater effect Kidderminster’s task would have been much harder, however good approach work led to Scrum half Pinner darting through a gap adroitly to score an unconverted try and take the score to 29-7 at half time.

Although missing several key players due to unavailability Kidderminster’s increasing squad size was used to make changes and this again ensured a strong start to the 2nd half as energetic flanker Scott Lovell added to the score with am unconverted try to take the score to 34-7.
Crewe showed great resilience at this point and put together a number of strong runs with their powerful hooker and big centre causing the home defence problems and leading to try which was converted and took the score to 34-14.

Arthur Morgan settled home supporters’ nerves with an unconverted try 39-14 and Kidderminster stepped up the pace with a great period of fast handling and good support leading to the referee awarding a penalty try as the Crewe full back knocked down a scoring pass from Rich Sollom.

Whilst scoring 46 points and winning the game comfortably the Kiddderminster coaching staff were less than pleased with the conceding of two late tries by the home team, both of these were converted and the final score of 46-28 underlines the need for plenty of work to prepare for this visit of high-flying Kenilworth to Marlpool lane in a critical league game this coming weekend.