Whitchurch subs set the benchmark

The half-time introductions of Tom Hale, Jack Furnival and Joe Mullock sparked a stunning turnaround as Whitchurch overturned a 16-0 deficit to come out on top in the Midlands 1 West clash, 24-23.

It was the trio’s first taste of action this season and Sturdy was delighted with their efforts.

“Ludlow have made a massive improvement since we last played them at level seven and they did what they did very well, but we were really poor in the first half,” said Sturdy.

“We had opportunities in the first half, but we were very wasteful. I brought Tom Hale, Jack Furnival and Joe Mullock on at half-time. It’s the first time they have played this season and they made a huge impact.

“We were magnificent in the second half. It was our best 40 minutes of the season and it came from 16-0 down against a team that was on top.

“We managed to claw the difference back and there was a dramatic ending that saw them take a tap penalty when they had the chance to kick a penalty that would have won them the game.”

A try from Charlie Doyle plus a conversion and three penalties from will Sparrow had seen Ludlow lead 16-0 at the break.

And although Keiron Pinches added another try, converted by Sparrow, in the second half, Whitchurch battled back to nick the win through tries from Luca Owen-Youens, Jack Furnival, Joe Mullock and Ade Spragg and two conversions from Danny Nicholas.

There was a dramatic end to the contest that saw Ludlow, who were down to 13 men at one stage following two yellow cards, squander the chance to clinch victory.

With a minute remaining they were a point behind, but camped out on the Whitchurch line.

The referee then signalled a penalty for offside against the hosts, but instead of asking consistent point scorer Sparrow to take the penalty and seal the win, Ludlow took a tap penalty only to see their advances stopped by the Whitchurch defence.

An attempted drop goal then failed to hit the target with the referee sounding the final whistle.

The victory saw Whitchurch move three points clear of the bottom two while Ludlow are eighth.

Telford Hornets progressed to the next round of the Midlands Senior Vase without setting foot on the pitch.

Their scheduled clash with Ledbury was awarded to them after their hosts couldn’t field a front row.