Alcester RFC

Alcester secured their third victory of the 2024/25 season and extended their unbeaten league run with a 12-29 win over Leamington at the weekend.

Spurred on by their dominant 76-0 triumph last week, Alcester began the match confidently, quickly taking control. Mark Burrell, fresh from his hat-trick performance, crossed the line under the posts, and Ed Gough’s reliable boot added the extras to give them an early 0-7 lead.

Spotting an opportunity on the wing, Alcester moved the ball wide to Dwayne Cruickshank, who took advantage of an overlap to score their second try. Gough again converted, doubling the score to 0-14.

Leamington gained momentum as the half progressed. They managed to get on the scoreboard, although the missed conversion and Alcester’s failure to capitalise on a penalty kick kept the gap from widening further. Leamington came close to scoring again but were held up over the line, leaving the score at 5-14 going into the break.

The second half started shakily, but Alcester soon found their stride again. Jack Green shrugged off several defenders to cross the whitewash, with Gough once more adding the conversion to extend the lead.

Persistent infringements saw Leamington reduced to 14 men with a yellow card, and shortly afterwards, Alcester were awarded a penalty, which Gough neatly slotted over to make it 5-24.

Owen Binns, celebrating his birthday, secured the bonus point try, though the difficult touchline conversion was missed. Moments later, he nearly added another, only to fumble the ball just before the line.

A flurry of yellow cards saw Alcester reduced to 13 men, with both Josh O’Connor and Mark Burrell sent to the bin for offside offences. Leamington capitalised on their numerical advantage, scoring a converted try to narrow the deficit to 12-24.

Despite this, time was not on Leamington’s side. In the final stages, a Leamington player received a second yellow card for a high tackle, resulting in a red, leaving both teams with 14 men on the field. Alcester maintained control and closed out the match with a well-deserved 12-29 victory.

After three games, Alcester sit top of the league and face second-place Old Coventrians next week at home.