Market Bosworth 34 Kenilworth 48: Bonus-point victory means Ks’ Midlands One status is assured

Kenilworth put the kick-off directly into touch but quickly won back possession from the scrum. After a number of phases, they were awarded a penalty and Gareth Renowden crashed over for the first score of the afternoon following a quick tap.

Simon Tyler, deputising for Tom Kendall at 15, was just wide with the conversion.

Ks looked to build on their lead but an opening for Nyle Beckett went begging when a Bosworth wing slapped the ball down. With everyone expecting a whistle, the winger gathered the ball and rounded the posts to score a converted try.

The response from Kenilworth was immediate, with Ed Hannam running hard at the Bosworth defence before slipping a well-timed pass for Beckett to touch down for the first of two quick-fire tries for the number 11.

There now followed a prolonged period of Bosworth possession which culminated in their left-winger scoring in the corner.

Continuous encroachment by the hosts at the ruck went unpunished so Ks moved the point of attack and the combination of short passes and sweeping moves from the backs was making good yards.

One such move saw the ball spun out wide to Ross Lowthian who took the ball at pace and crashed over for a well-worked try. Another good kick from Tyler stretched the lead to 24-12.

With the bonus point secure, Kenilworth took their foot off the gas and Bosworth replied with a try almost immediately.

But another excellent response from Kenilworth produced a quality score. Tyler ripped the ball from the tackled player inside Ks’ 22 and the ball was well worked through the backs to Hannam who stepped and shimmied his way past the defenders to score under the posts. Tyler’s successful kick made it 31-17 to the visitors at the interval.

The second half saw the lion’s share of possession with the home side and they were soon on the board again.

More sustained pressure close to the line eventually produced an overlap for the centre to score and only a missed conversion allowed Kenilworth to maintain a slender two-point lead with 25 minutes to go.

Bosworth now had their tails up and were pressing again when a speculative pass from their fly-half was well read by Renowden who gathered the ball and sauntered in from beyond half-way.

After another successful conversion, Tyler was involved again almost immediately, setting up a maul which allowed Cresswell to ground the ball and push the lead back out to 43-29.

The decisive try arrived when an attempted clearance found Hannam who opted for the direct route to the line, beating two defenders to score.

A red card for the Bosworth six compounded their misery but the hosts did have the final say with a fine individual try for their winger.