Shipston III 43 pts, Pershore III 0

SHIPSTON welcomed Pershore to Mayo Road on Saturday and the visitors were one of the few sides to have beaten the hosts this season.

With the rump' of the pack away in Valencia looking after the soon to be wedded Andy Cox, the Rams knew it was potentially going to be a tough task.

The tactics were simple to keep the ball away from a larger pack and exploit the strengths of the team by playing open rugby.

It couldn't have gone better as the Rams demonstrated total rugby to run in seven first half tries from all areas of the field to lead 43-0 at the break and a tenth successive win wrapped up.

Special mention should be made of Charlie Cox playing in the unfamiliar role of hooker whose contribution was immense with the first three scrums being won against the head.

The pack was ably supported by newcomers Nick Hill and Ben Hull who was named man of the match.

To their credit Pershore regrouped in the second half and, on occasions, looked like crossing the Shipston line but the defence held firm and the second half yielded no points to either side.