Ludlow boss Jones is expecting a response after poor defeat

The Linney men saw their recent momentum checked as they slipped to a disappointing Regional Two Midlands West defeat at the hands of visitors Stow-on-the-Wold.

Ludlow suffered a rare off day on home soil that saw them fail to score a try on the way to a 19-6 reverse.

The defeat left Jones’s side sixth in the standings ahead of Saturday’s trip to face a Moseley Oak side sitting one point and one place above them.

“You could see by the reaction in the changing room after the game that the boys were disappointed with their performance,” said Jones. “We need to bounce back at Moseley Oak and I’m sure there will be a positive response.”

Two penalties from Jack Lines were all Ludlow had to show for their efforts against Stow.

“We haven’t had may off days to be fair, but Saturday was a very disappointing day,” added Jones. “We dominated them in the scrum but we didn’t capitalise on it.

“We won five scrum penalties, but then our kicks didn’t find touch and we ended up giving the ball straight back to them. It was an off day for everyone.

“We weren’t clinical enough, our kicking wasn’t good and our ball-carrying wasn’t good enough.”

After Saturday’s trip to Moseley, Ludlow will have just two games – Stratford at home on December 9 and Shipston-on-Stour away on December 16 – before the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, Bridgnorth were left counting the cost of a poor start to their latest Regional One Midlands clash. The hosts were left playing catch-up after gifting visiting Stoke an eight-point lead, but they fell just short as the visitors held on for a 29-27 success.

It was the fifth time this season the All Blacks have lost a game by five points or fewer – a record that has checked their bid to be up among the leading contenders. “These tight games are becoming too much of a habit,” said head coach Bryan Smallman. “We are scoring tries and getting two points every week, but not winning enough games. It’s really frustrating.

“We are also making errors and giving up points. On Saturday, Stoke kicked off, we let the ball bounce and it ends up with their winger going over for a try without us touching the ball.

“Then, following the restart, Stoke work their way towards our 22 and we give a penalty away and all of a sudden we are 8-0 down.

“We battled back, got in front and then feel behind again. We had a couple of penalties late on to win the game but unfortunately missed them.

“Every mistake we make seems to be getting punished and although you expect that to some degree, we are wondering when we are going to get a bit of luck. One of their tries looked to have come form a knock-on but we didn’t get the decision.”

George Newman, Luis Evitt, Luke Brough and Elliot Murphy scored Bridgnorth’s tries, with Murphy adding two conversions and a penalty.