BROMSGROVE RFC continued their charge at the summit of Midlands 1 West with a 36-7 victory over lowly Longton, as they look forward to welcoming bottom side Malvern.
An Ed Spalding double, added to by tries for Chris Morgan, Ethan Priest, James Gunther and Tom Millen sealed the win for the Boars, whilst Will Harris kicked three successful conversions to bolster the margin of victory.
Head coach Dan Protherough believed his side ground out a well-deserved win after weathering the early storm from Longton, and labelled the impact of Ethan Priest, Ed Spalding and Tom Millen as vital in gaining maximum points.
With Longton missing key figures in Scott Rawlings and Sam Evans, the league leaders made sure they took full advantage.
In the opening quarter, it was very much a deadlocked game on a bitterly cold afternoon, as both sides got a glimpse of the physical battle that was to ensue for the entirety of the match.
Bromsgrove then struck first with a well-worked try after cutting open the defence with pace and power, followed by a first conversion of the game for Harris.
The battle continued until Longton found a levelling try from Pete Wilshaw, added to by Sam Bedworth’s conversion to tie the game at 7-7.
A forward drive brought a second try of the game and a second Harris conversion, whilst a lineout set-up a quick-fire try to give Bromsgrove a 19-7 lead.
The visiting Boars struck with a fourth try but with a conversion missed, as they began to step it up a gear early after the restart.
Bromsgrove struck again in the 45th minute to make it 31-7, before a sixth run over the whitewash three minutes later left of the posts made it the final score of 36-7, as the remainder of the game remained scoreless despite pressure from both sides to extend the scoreline.
Bromsgrove’s bout with Malvern gets underway on Saturday at 2:15pm, in a match that could see them extend their lead at the top of the table beyond six points.
The two teams come into the match with completely differing form, the Boars winning their last nine in a row, compared to Malvern being winless in seven successive games, a miserable run that doesn’t look like ending any time soon against a prolific Bromsgrove side.
