Kenilworth 25 Whitchurch 17: Outstanding team try takes the wind out of Whitchurch's sails

A strong wind was blowing straight down the field and it was obvious from the start that it would play a major part in the pattern and eventual outcome of the game.

Both teams spent the early part of the encounter exchanging pressure and penalties with Whitchurch putting the first three points on the board.

However it was not long before Jonny Cresswell took a tap and go from a penalty five metres out and charged over the line to put Kenilworth in front.

The difficult conversion was just missed by Tom Kendall but he was soon back on form, slotting over a penalty after Whitchurch had been penalised for failing to release.

Infringements and mistakes from both sides made for a period of disjointed play before Kenilworth stretched their advantage with a Kendall penalty.

Continuous pressure from Whitchurch’s forwards led to a series of rucks on the home line and eventually led to converted try to bring the score back to 11-10 at the interval.

With the wind now behind them for the second half, Whitchurch would have been confident of overturning the one-point deficit.

However, it was Kenilworth who recorded the first points of the second period, with excellent breaks from Josh Hickman and then Simon Tyler and a powerful surge from Bobby Thompson providing the platform for James Wadey to touch down.

Kendall slotted over the difficult conversion to put Ks 18-10 ahead.

The advantage was short-lived as a clearance kick was charged down to provide Whitchurch with an instant riposte.

The difficult touchline conversion was added to again narrow the deficit to a point.

Two yellow cards were produced as Jonny Cresswell and Whitchurch’s number seven aired their differences, which provided the prelude to an outstanding team try from Kenilworth.

The ball was taken from the half-way line thanks to swift inter-passing between the Ks forwards, with Nick Collett and Ross Lowthian instrumental, before Tom Nicholson was released to score under the posts.

Kenilworth’s direct running was proving the perfect tactic to negate the strong wind and strong tackling and some favourable decisions from the referee ensured Whitchurch never threatened the home line in the closing stages.

 Kenilworth Cavaliers progressed to the second round of the Warwickshire 2nd XV Cup with a 41-7 victory over Old Laurentians 2nds.

Tommy Jones scored two tries, with Tim Wilson, Adam Hadwin and replacement Jonny Openshaw also crossing the whitewash,