Counties 1 Midlands West (South): Ledbury 48-12 Old Coventrians

In boggy conditions, Ledbury maintained their spot in second in the Counties 1 Midlands West (South) table with a 15th win of the season, keeping their chances of promotion alive.

The hosts wasted no time in going about their business, with three early tries setting the tone.

The ball was worked out to Josh Bishop on the wing for the opening score, before the scrum came into play for Ledbury. Two huge shoves, one against the head, provided tries for Luke Clarke and Jamie Rayfield.

But Old Covs did respond with a try of their own as a series of kicks ended with the away side working an overlap out wide for their winger to dot down in the corner.

It acted only as a wake-up call for Ledbury, however, and good hands down the line following a burst from prop Freddie Hemingway eventually saw Bishop grabbing his second of the afternoon.

Iolo Bubb converted to make it 26-5 at half-time and Ledbury were well on their way to another high score.

Ledbury started the second-half like they did the first and Charlie Barber-Starkey eventually freed Ed Bennion to crash through and from the melee of a maul 5m out, he powered his way over, Bubb with the extras (31-5).

Old Covs were caught out when Luke Clarke intercepted and raced under the posts for try number six before Ledbury threw an intercept of their own to hand the visitors the chance to score a second try to make it 36-12.

Old Covs had their tails up by this point and were pressing Ledbury before a flash point saw a flurry of yellow cards. Wing Clarke was tackled high by an Old Covs defender, sparking a melee that also saw the Coventrians player land a punch on Harry Harris, who responded with a strike of his own to also be sent from the pitch.

It did not change too much in terms of the score and Ledbury ended the game with two more tries. With the conditions getting worse, the hosts handled it better and Cam Smith crossed before setting up Rayfield for his second to wrap up the win.