Late change of venue fails to check Ludlow’s recent charge

Heavy rain left Ludlow’s Linney Road base under water and saw them switch their Regional Two Midlands West match with Worcester to an away clash.

And while head coach Mikey Jones wasn’t too impressed with his team’s display, there was once again plenty of character on show as they triumphed 22-19.

Tries from AJ Rocke and Jim Alderson, plus conversions from Jack Lines saw Ludlow lead 14-0 before the hosts hit back with 19 unanswered points to nose in front.

But Ludlow were not to be denied and regrouped to seal the win with a late try from Kieran Pinches, which was again converted by Lines.

“Our ground was flooded, it was under about three feet of water on Friday,” said Jones.

“So the decision was made to play at Worcester and that obviously has an impact on your preparation.

“You could see that in our performance. We were not at our best, it was an off-day performance wise.

“But if you can win when you play badly then that shows that you are not a bad side.

“We led 7-0 at half-time and then 14-0 but Worcester came back to lead 19-14.

“But we showed some character to hit back and score the winning try late on.”

The victory extend Ludlow’s recent run to four wins and a draw in their last five outings. And a result of that form they have climbed up to fifth in the standings.

They now have a week off before embarking on a crunch run of fixtures that will see them play the teams sitting third, second and fourth – Cheltenham, Silhillians and Stow-on-the-Wold – in consecutive weeks.

“The victory kept our run going and we are in a good place,” added Jones. “We are up to fifth now and the aim is to try and catch fourth and then take a ream out at a time.”