IT proved to be a successful night for the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Colts on Wednesday evening as they lifted the Houghton Harries Trophy following a 22-5 win over Greater Birmingham.

The clash saw the best under-18 players across the two counties tackle their Greater Birmingham counterparts and they proved too strong in the end as Herefordshire & Worcestershire cruised to a 22-5 victory at Droitwich RFC. 

The 22-man squad was packed with talented youngsters playing for different clubs in the area, with nine coming from Ledbury RFC. Ben Deards, Josh Bishop, Ben Lewis, Charlie Pallett, Ed Wallin, Ben Roberts, Iolo Bubb, Curtis Williams and Cody Richardson-Wall all were involved in the win. 

Malvern College student Toby Newman was the youngest member of the squad, playing in the second-row. Worcester boys Francis Shiels (second-row), George Wheatley, Oscar Vickers and Shelton Stanley also took part. 

And it was tries from Richardson-Wall (ledbury), two for Max Cook (Hereford) and Charlie Pallett (Ledbury) that secured the win for the 'home' side. 

Coaches Gareth Richards, Gareth Bubb and Chris Wallin applauded the 'commitment of the players, the squad were a credit to their own club coaches, each and every squad member represented their respective clubs to the highest of standards.' 

Next Wednesday Herefordshire & Worcestershire take on Shropshire in the final of the Trevor Houghton Trophy at Shrewsbury.