Rugby Union
Brilliant Bromsgrove stun high-flyers

Buy photos » Tom Warren prepares to feel the full force of a Huddersfield tackle on Saturday. Picture by Peter Jepson.

BROMSGROVE RFC completed a tremendous double against high-flying Huddersfield on Saturday with a 16-10 away success.

The victory was just Bromsgrove's second on the road this season and it left them seventh in the table whilst damaging second placed Huddersfield's title hopes at the same time.

Huddersfield have a fabulous set up but the pitch was very heavy which severely limited the amount of free flowing rugby on show.

That did not stop Bromsgrove dominating the early exchanges though and they made their pressure count in the fifth minute thanks to Jon Critchlow's penalty.

The hosts had the chance to draw level within a minute but Chris Johnson, the league's leading scorer, surprisingly missed the opportunity.

Back came Bromsgrove, who were playing with great energy and commitment, and a break from skipper Tom Warren saw him link with the returning James Lloyd Jones to put Aaron Higgins over in the corner.

The visitors went close to increasing the lead five minutes later but Critchlow was held up just short and a bit of over confidence followed when they tried to counter from a midfield position, got turned over and Huddersfield poured forward, only to be held up just short themselves.

That set up a good position for the home side though and they began to assert a lot of pressure in the scrum which ultimately led to Johnson scoring a try which he converted himself.

Bromsgrove's response was excellent and the rampaging Burrows made a great hold in the centre of the park with Lloyd-Jones again on hand to put Critchlow over in the corner for a 13-7 half time lead.

Critchlow extended the lead with another penalty at the start of the second half and the visitors were by far the better side for the next 20 minutes, forcing the home side to use all of their subs very early in the contest.

As a result, when they suffered an injury midway through the half they were forced to play with 14 men and give Bromsgrove the advantage, but they failed to take their chance to pull clear.

Huddersfield rallied late in the contest and put a lot of forward pressure on Bromsgrove's line, leading to yellow cards for substitutes Blackburn and Ward, thus reducing them to 13 for the final five minutes. Bromsgrove held out bravely to secure one of their most impressive victories of the season.

Otley are the visitors to Finstall Park on Saturday.