ALCESTER RFC suffered a 34-27 defeat against Stratford in a pre-season friendly as the Kings Coughton club continue to gear up for the start of the league season.
With scheduled opponents Rugby Lions cancelling in midweek, Alcester took on a Stratford side who picked up the fixture at short notice.
And with captain Will Silk unavailable, former Alcester skipper Max Biltcliffe took the armband as the visitors scored the game’s first try through prop Tommy Wright.
However, the hosts hit back with a try of their own as the two teams began to trade tries with regularity thereafter.
The new tackle height laws presented issues throughout with both teams losing players to the sin bin.
Alcester gave a strong account of themselves against their higher level opponents as Christian Rushton, Alex Chiles, Max Biltcliffe and Josh O’Connor all crossed for tries with Ed Gough kicking a single conversion.
The Kings Coughton club begin their league season with a first-ever fixture at level seven away at Old Leamingtonians on Saturday, September 2.
