Bonus-point try is a worthy consolation for Kenilworth

On the face of it, this was another heavy defeat for the home side in their battle to avoid the drop from Midlands One West.

However, in an enthralling contest against one of the best sides in the division, they held their own for long periods and moreover, ran in four tries, thereby garnering a precious bonus point, writes Bob Jones.

Lichfield started strongly and Kenilworth were forced into a number of transgressions in an attempt to contain their attacks.

Full-back Greg Massey missed an early opportunity to punish one of these before making amends in the 17th minute after relentless pressure from the visitors.

Ks responded immediately. A strong run to near the visitors’ line by Adam Clifford was followed by a tap-and-go by Catalin Graur, carried on by Phil Dickson, which set up Will Owen for an unconverted try.

A period of end-to-end and rather scrappy play terminated in a break-out by the Staffordshire outfit. Massey was instrumental, setting up Paul Maxwell-Keys for a try, then converting it on the half-hour.

Kenilworth were in no mood to lie down. First, Nyle Beckett stole the ball and handed it to Andy Whitehall, who gained good ground with a touch-finder.

Then, in the 34th minute, Nick Collett stormed away before moving the ball out to Simon Tyler, who powered over wide on the left for an unconverted try.

A minute later, Chris Muncaster was sin-binned for offside and the half ended at 10-10.

Two minutes into the second half, Lichfield went into a lead they were not to relinquish courtesy of another Massey penalty goal.

Two unfortunate errors, one when on the attack that conceded ground near the visitors’ line, the other in their 22, opened the way for a converted try in the 50th minute.

This was closely followed by another, by virtue of an assured move after a penalty against Kenilworth for offside.

It was all hands to the pump in defence for Ks now. They tackled well, with one effort by Tyler both outstanding and try-saving.

They were not to be denied in attack either and reward came after a series of neat moves which culminated in a try wide right by Beckett and an excellent conversion by Tyler.

They closed the gap further with a Tyler penalty goal, awarded after a drive by the pack, which led to an offence on the floor.

Lichfield struck back with a penalty goal after Collett was penalised for coming in from the side.

A break by Tyler was negated by a lack of support before he became the second recipient of a yellow card for using his hands in a ruck.

Whether it was simply the extra man, or sheer power and determination, allied to a ruthless winning mentality, the remaining few minutes saw three more Lichfield tries, two converted, the last by the impressive Massey.

Ks, striving for a fourth try and thus a bonus point, battled to the last. A Graur tap-and-go penalty found Cresswell in support and the captain duly obliged in his inimitable bullocking style, with Whitehall adding the extras in a breathless finale.