Bromsgrove 28, Peterborough Lions 24

BROMSGROVE pulled off one of their best wins of the season to defeat high-flying Peterborough.

This was always going to be a tough encounter and so it proved but despite an early setback, the Boars put in a great performance to secure an excellent win.

The hosts went into the game on the back of the three defeats in a row and Lions, on the back of three straight victories, opened the scoring when Chris Humphrey touched down and Will Carrington converted.

However, this show of strength did not appear to faze Bromsgrove who came back strongly with the veteran backs Jon Critchlow and James Lloyd Jones running good lines and Rich Mahoney having a good game returning to the side at fly half.

It only took Grove five minutes to respond when their pressure earned a kick at goal for Critchlow which he nailed.

Soon after captain Paul Norris was forced off the park with an injury but this seemed to make the home side more determined with second rows Matt Edgar and Ben Meadows prominent. The rampaging Phil Horton took over as captain and as usual led from the front.

After 30 minutes, Bromsgrove were getting the better of the territory despite being under pressure in the scrum.

Luckily the lineout was functioning much better with Jamie Tsang throwing accurately in addition to his excellent all round game.

It was from a lineout that the Boars got their first try with an emphatic catch and drive with the dynamic Chris Morgan touching down. Critchlow converted.

Soon after Bromsgrove were pounding the visitors line again as the visitors indiscretions offered up more attacking opportunities.

This time the catch and drive was rebuffed by Peterborough but in their eagerness to clear their lines, they spilled a pass in the in goal area allowing the alert Edgar to pounce and score to take a 15-7 half-time.

Bromsgrove extended their lead when Mahoney kicked a penalty after Lions were offside. The visitors who appeared very fit responded quickly with a kick of their own through Carrington to keep the difference at eight points.

But the hosts responded well and some great rugby led to a try for winnger Tom Hunt who had a great all round match. Critchlow converted well to create a three score buffer.

As expected Lions came on strongly in the last 15 minutes and got their first reward when winger Vernon Horne was on the end of a good handling movement to score with Carrington converting.

Five minutes from time, the visitors’ frustration got the better of them when they disputed the referees decision, giving away 10 metres, turning a free kick into a penalty which Critchlow duly dispatched.

The game now appeared safe for Grove but well into injury time Peterborough earned a losing bonus point when after several phases Arturo Balcunius scored and Carrington added the extras.