LEDBURY RFC recovered from being 21-7 down in the first-half to storm back and beat Old Salteians to win a thrilling North Midlands Shield final 44-38.
Ledbury had taken the lead when Ed Bennion touched down but three quick tries from their opponents saw them fall 14 points behind.
A successful rolling maul provided Salts with their opener in the same fashion Ledbury scored theirs before they quickly crossed for another when a probing chip caught Ledbury asleep allowing a soft try in behind.
Their lead was stretched further when scrum-half Tom Lee scrambled over for the third of the day and now, Ledbury were up against it.
But they did not panic and responded immediately as a flowing move ended with Bennion grabbing his second try of the final, converted again by George Wallin.
And just moments later, the scores were all square. Ben Stevens found a gap in the OS defence and he proceeded to smash his way through several tackles and cross for a brilliant solo try, which Wallin converted to make it 21-21.
Wallin then kicked two penalties to give Ledbury a 27-21 lead but the OS pack were still getting the upper hand at scrum time and that enabled them to build a platform in the Ledbury half to score their fourth of the afternoon to reduce the lead to a single point at 27-26.
In what was turning out to be a classic cup match, there was still time for one more try in an absorbing encounter as first XV debutant Iolo Bubb executed a delightful 50:22 to give Ledbury an attacking line-out.
And from the set-piece, Alex Voisey sliced through the defence to touch down with the final action of the half; 32-26.
The scoring showed no signs of slowing down as the second-half began and Salts were the first to strike and it was a double blow for Ledbury as Charlie Barber-Starkey was yellow carded in attempting to deny the score, 32-31.
Despite being a man down, the see-saw nature of the game continued and Wallin pounced on a loose ball before swinging a looping pass out to Dan Smith, who raced over as the lead extended to 39-31.
And Ledbury would take a big step to winning the final when a 40-metre penalty was kicked to the corner and eventually, flanker Ben Day acrobatically touched down one handed in the corner.
Salts did score a consolation late on to set-up a tense finish but Ledbury held on to win the game and lift the trophy.
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