Look: Leaders Dunlop turn on power to sink Manor Park

Dunlop rung the changes against Manor Park but retained more than enough top-v-bottom differential to cruise home 62-7.

Owain McBride, Eoin Power, Kieran Pitman and Paul Huntbach returned to action while Phil Molloy and Tom Mountford stepped up from the seconds.

McBride, James Reilly and Mark Challis logged two tries apiece with Power, Huntbach, Craig McGrory, and Dave Weston also chipping in, while Weston mastered the difficult wind to kick six conversions.

Second-placed Bedworth topped Dunlop’s ten-try haul with 11 as they produced one of their best performances of the season to overwhelm Pershore 76-8.

Leading 24-8 at the break, they ran riot in the second half, Adam Hardine totting up a hat-trick to make it six in two games.

Craig Malcolm also claimed a treble while Ryan Jenkins (2), Andrew McHardy and Adi Iliff crossed with the latter adding nine conversions and a penalty for good measure in what coach Carl Rogers described as: “as close to a complete performance as I’ve ever seen.”

Southam bounced back from their under-par performance at Shipston to tame third-placed Woodrush 23-15.

The visitors took control from the start, Will Grindal’s penalty putting them on the board before they made the telling breakthrough after half-an-hour. A quick penalty by James Etherington was fed to winger Sam Bench who left a string of tacklers in his wake to notch his 25th try of the season and leave Grindal with a ‘gimme’ conversion.

They stretched the lead to 17-0 early in the second half as full-back Russell King’s canny chip launched an excellent run by Will Woods and Grindal again added the extras.

Although Woodrush’s muscular pack battered their way through a tiring defence to claim three unconverted tries – one by new recruit Evan Byrne, two from Simon Andrews – Grindal underlined his value with a brace of long-range penalties to keep Southam’s noses in front.

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