Malvern beat Ledbury to clinch inaugural Wye Valley Cup

LEDBURY were left ruing making mistakes as they fell to a 12-8 defeat at the hands of their oldest rivals Malvern.

The Regional 2 Midlands West tie was also for the inaugural Wye Valley Cup, sponsored by Wye Valley Brewery.

Ledbury fly half Jack Hughes early in the match who was taken off with a shoulder injury and replaced by George Wallin.

Malvern took advantage and scored first, as Ben Gaubert broke the Ledbury line of defence for a try converted by Lewis Hardiman (7-0).

A questionable yellow card for Ledbury’s Tom Roberts from the ensuing kick-off was another blow for the visitors.

However, Iolo Bubb was able to slot a simple penalty after Malvern tackled a player without the ball (7-3) after 25 minutes play.

The hosts were also down to 14 players soon after with another yellow card.

Ledbury capitalised mauling their way close to the line, until the backs swung the ball out wide giving Lewis Turner an unconverted try in the corner (7-8).

A slender lead following a first half that was a full on contest, both sides playing some highly entertaining rugby, but the Ledbury pack were beginning to show their mighty dominance at scrum time.

The second half saw Ledbury with the wind behind them and Bubb went close with a penalty attempt after Malvern had handled the ball in a ruck.

Ledbury continued to dominate play but, with their pack demolishing Malvern at every scrum, however the hosts failed to make their possession pay.

Malvern weathered 10 minutes of pressure before stringing together their only foray into the Ledbury half, their winger darting over to score in the corner (12-8).

The remaining 20 minutes of the match saw Malvern on the ropes as Ledbury launched attack after attack, with the hosts defending for their lives.

Despite total control at the scrummages, Ledbury were unable to penetrate a stubborn defence and their frustration was complete as they failed to find a breakthrough.

By now, the light was fading and time after time, the partisan crowd watched in anticipation as Ledbury threatened to score a winning try.

The referee appeared to have difficulty managing the scrum and Malvern were able to disrupt this facet of play.

A late yellow card for a Malvern player stopping a try meant they needed a back to join the scrum, but Ledbury were still agonisingly unable to take advantage.

The last five minutes were as frantic and exciting as a local derby can get.

Somehow Malvern kept their visitors out to record an unexpected victory.

Next Saturday sees a tough home game for Ledbury against fifth in the table Old Halesonians, fifth in the table.

Only four points separate the bottom five teams and a return to winning ways would redress the balance and give some comfort as Ledbury approach the season halfway mark.

A busy December also sees Ledbury head to Shipston-on-Stour before a home tie against Edwardians before the Christmas break.