A much-changed Ledbury XV travelled to Earlsdon hoping to maintain the momentum of recent positive performances that have seen them climb away from the foot of the Counties 1 Midland West (South) league, writes Stephen Smith.
A cagey opening from both sides gave way to multiple attacking phases from the visitors in midfield before a slippery ball halted progress. In response, the hosts relied on a sound kicking game and well-oiled lineout to pin Ledbury back.
Ledbury’s backfield stood up well to an onslaught of high balls and on 20 minutes, Smith fielded an awkward kick inside his own 22. His resulting clearance and the excellent chase saw the ball jarred loose on the Earlsdon 10-metre line, where John Parker out-paced the covering defence and opened the scoring, which was converted by Jamie Rayfield.
With 13 of the starting 15 having come through Ledbury’s mini and juniors section, the latest prospect from the Colts production line—young scrum-half Charlie Bowness—was more than a handful at the base of the ruck, giving a man of the match performance.
He tied in the Earlsdon fringe defence and made three clean breaks, creating promising positions for the Ledbury forwards with Aaron Almond, Will Lewis, and Tom Manning prominent.
A flurry of penalties and excellent lineout drills helped Earlsdon march up the field inside the Ledbury 22, but commitment in defence frustrated the home side with Harry Harris and Tom Assalt making critical interventions.
Eventually, Ledbury worked their way back and, following a scrum on Earlsdon’s 5-metre line, Anscombe crashed over from short range with Rayfield adding the extras.
The second half opened with brighter skies and the visitors holding a 14–0 lead.
The pattern of the match remained unchanged, with Ledbury recycling the ball efficiently and making good ground through short carries from the heavy mob.
A series of scrums between the 10-metre lines allowed the Ledbury front row to dominate with Ed Wallin crushing his opposite number.
Quick work from Cody Richardson-Wall, following yet another retreating Earlsdon scrum, kick-started another Ledbury attack. Two quick phases later, Ledbury extended their lead 10 minutes in with Anscombe surging over the line for his second score. Rayfield once again converted.
With the Earlsdon scrum now a hazy memory and Kade Saxelby imperious at the lineout, Ledbury pressed unsuccessfully for the bonus-point try, going close on several occasions, including being held up over the line.
A good exit from Earlsdon led to a sustained period of pressure on the visitors’ try line. Several penalties to the home team threatened to undo Ledbury’s resistance, but the front row snuffed out the threat, and Earlsdon finished scoreless for the first time since 2021.
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