Luctionians came out on top of the county battle at Stourbridge when they beat Hereford to lift the North Midlands Rugby Cup for the third time in four years.
The Kingsland club were made to work hard by a determined Hereford side, who had been severely depleted due to touring commitments and who pushed their fierce rivals to the limit.
A tense opening half was punctuated when Luctonians scrumhalf Chris James kicked a penalty after the Hereford forwards had been found guilty of coming in from the side at the breakdown.
James kicked another penalty before being yellow-carded for an offence at a ruck, after some intense Hereford forward pressure which allowed fullback Simeon Mifflin to peg the Wyesiders back with a penalty.
Both sides fought hard to get the better of one another but mistakes and unforced errors prevented either taking full control of the match. Centre Cameron Hewitt got the first try of the match for Luctonians when he burst through the Hereford defence to cross – allowing winger Andy Garrod to land the conversion for a 13-3 lead for the Kingsland club at half-time.
Hereford’s defended admirably and had several opportunities to score – but the nervy, error-strewn nature of the match continued after the restart until Lucs got their second score through second-row Darren Brick after some strong forward play.
Garrod kicked his second conversion to secure a 20-3 lead and the title for the Mortimer Park men.
Both sides looked weary after a long season, although the title will mean entry to the EDF National trophy for Luctonians, who made it to the third round last season before coming unstuck against Londoners Rosslyn Park.
For Hereford the defeat is a bitter blow after their agonising play-off defeat against Hinckley denied them promotion to Midlands One.
Nevertheless, many at the Wyeside club are confident about the future, and with three regular senior sides being fielded every week and a strong junior section, few would bet against them challenging for the same honours next year.
Meanwhile, in the North Midlands Vase, winger Edmund Leach grabbed a hat-trick of tries to help Ross-on-Wye clinch the title by defeating Cleobury Mortimer 26-13 .
