Ross kicked off the new season last Saturday with an away match in Birmingham, in the North Midlands Cup Round 1. They were looking to start the defence of the trophy they won last May, and after a slow start Ross finally found some fluency. They ran in five tries to secure a comfortable 39-22 win against Yardley that sees them into the draw for the next round.

It was the hosts who opened the scoring with an individual try from their speedster winger who ran in under the posts. After a mazy run from the halfway line it was converted and Ross found themselves 7-0 down after ten minutes. This seemed to jolt Ross into action and for the remainder of the half they dominated territory.

From that they were able to run in three tries scored by Basil Parker, Josh Element and Alex Davies. Thai Hayward converted one, then Chay Brine added a further conversion and two penalties that saw Ross go in at halftime 25-12 ahead.

The big Yardley pack tried their best in the third quarter to punch holes in the Ross defence but in the main it held firm. With continued good field position Louis Morgan, and then captain, Casey Morgan, added a try apiece which Chay Brine converted to put Ross 39-12 ahead. Two late scores by the hosts closed the gap but the result was never in doubt and Ross closed out the game.

The New Inn outstanding man of the match was Alex Davies who stepped into scrum half at the last minute, yet played to the manor born. On Saturday, September 8th, Ross start their league campaign at home to Cheltenham North. The kick off is at 3pm at Greytree and entrance is free.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.