ALCESTER RFC ran in 10 tries in a dominant 58-0 bonus point win against local rivals Claverdon to remain top of the table.
Both Jack Green and Dwayne Cruickshank scored hat-trick’s whilst Josh O’Connor, Mark Burrell, Ben Hope and Ant Cauvin all touched down in a comprehensive win at Kings Coughton.
The result means Alcester sit one point clear at the top of the Counties 2 Midlands West (South) table, after nearest challengers Manor Park were handed an away walkover, with Claverdon down in seventh.
A moment of silence was held prior to kick off in memory of David Duckham, a former Alcester vice president and British and Irish Lions international, who died last week (January 9) aged 76.
When the whistle sounded, Alcester made hard work of the early stages as the home side failed to exploit the overlap before Cruickshank dove over for the afternoon’s first try.
And Alcester soon had their second when Green finished from close to the line after O’Connor had raced upfield only to be tackled just shy of the whitewash with the former on hand to eventually dot down.
Moments after the restart, Green scored his second try of the game only for the attempted conversion to be charged down illegally with Alcester’s complaints falling on deaf ears.
And O’Connor finally grabbed a deserved try when he dotted down Alcester’s bonus point score to put the home side into a commanding 22-0 lead at the break.
Alcester remained dominant throughout the second period as Cruickshank scored his second try of the game whilst Green went on to complete his treble.
Further tries were scored by Burrell, Hope and Cauvin in a scintillating performance with Claverdon shown two yellow cards during the match as their frustrations boiled over.
And despite Alcester losing Hope to a yellow card in the final few minutes, Cruickshank rounded off a man of the match performance with his hat-trick try to secure a huge 58-point victory and the home side’s fourth shutout of the season.
Alcester are next in action away at Manor Park on Saturday, January 21 at Heath End Road whilst Claverdon host Bromyard on the same afternoon at Ossetts Hole Lane.
