REDDITCH RFC suffered a 46-19 defeat against Worcester II after playing the entirety of the first half with only 14 players.
The Kingfishers trailed by 24 points at the break but produced an improved second half display with a full complement of players at Westons Fields.
And the result means Redditch sit eighth in the Counties 4 Midlands West (South) table.
Sudden work commitments saw two Redditch players fail to turn up at kick-off with two other players only able to feature in the second half.
Worcester agreed to delay the kick-off as the Kingfishers started the game with only 14 players.
Despite playing with a man less, Redditch scored the game’s first try when Matt Allen dotted down in the left corner with Elliot Williams unable to convert from the touchline.
However, Worcester took the lead with a converted try after a speculative kick bounced awkwardly and eluded two Redditch players for a try under the posts.
Worcester ran in their second try following a turnover and the home side scored several tries before the break to lead by 24 points at the interval.
A couple of new arrivals during the half time break allowed Redditch to field a full XV for the second period.
And the Kingfishers started the second half brightly as Allen crossed for his second try following a well-worked move as Williams kicked the extras.
However, a couple of quickfire tries from Worcester took the game out of Redditch’s reach.
The visitors responded with a third try as Harvey Habgood intercepted a pass and ran in from distance and Williams kicked the conversion.
The Kingfishers went in search of a bonus point try only for Rory Allen’s charge down to bounce back into the arms of a Worcester player who scored the game’s final try.
Redditch are next in action against Bromsgrove 3rds on Saturday, November 22 with kick-off at 2.15pm at Bromsgrove Road.
