Ginger Wills could be forgiven for having mixed feelings ahead of this month’s Shropshire Rugby Cup semi-finals – for he not only coaches Whitchurch but also their last four opponents Harper Adams!
Whitchurch booked their showdown with the students at Newport later this month after seeing off lower division Ludlow 55-14 at Edgeley Park last weekend.
The Reds, determined to close their Midlands One West season on a high note when they host second-placed Bournville on Saturday (3pm), can finish no higher or lower than the fifth place they presently occupy – but that still represents a creditable campaign.
“We had a little dip after losing 23-22 at home to Burton at the start of the year,” said president John Gregory. “That saw the end of our promotion hopes but overall it’s been a good season.”
The Reds were in near total control against Ludlow in their county cup clash as they eased into a 24-7 lead with tries from No 8 Richard Baxter (2), winger Lee Blackhurst and full back Henry Hockenhull, with Danny Nicholas adding two conversions. Whitchurch ran in five more tries in the second period, two of them from centre Mike Gardiner, while Hockenhull went over for his second and was joined on the scoresheet by scrum half Chris Hares and replacement winger Tomas Skone. Three conversions from Nicholas completed the tally.
“It was a good exercise and Ludlow saw what the gap between the divisions is like,” added Gregory.
Meanwhile Whitchurch’s hopes of retaining the winners’ trophy at their own under-18 festival were dashed by a semi-final defeat. The Reds youngsters bowed out 15-5 to Newport having earlier defeated Hereford 19-12, Shrewsbury 10-5 and Eccleshall 17-7 in their pool games.
Newport went on to beat Burton 13-0 to receive the Nicholas Eaton Memorial Trophy from Sam Eccleston, a past president of Whitchurch.
The event, Whitchurch’s 30th annual under-18 festival, was organised by Mike Townsend, Bob Thompson, Dave Speed, Dave Darlington and Sam Eccleston.
Referees included Mark Smith, John Hollins, Martin Clarke, Darlington, Hugh Dawkes, Ian Chesworth, Martin Lennon, Mike Mulroy and Gareth Masters.
By Stuart Dunn