Walsall RFC 17 Sutton Coldfield 19 Sutton had to draw heavily on their character to secure a late victory over local rivals Walsall, after their Warwickshire Cup heroics against Dunlop. The home pack looked dominant, and Sutton succumbed early on, as Walsall drove an attacking five metre scrum over the line for a converted try. Sutton’s misfortunes were compounded when winger Nathan Burchell then had to leave the field after aggravating an old knee injury. However, his replacement Mark Rayner proved to be equally inspirational, and his sharp break in midfield set centre Rob Watts racing for the line, but an excellent cover tackle stopped him short, and Sutton had to settle for a penalty by Alan Rowlands. In spite of a yellow card for the Walsall No 4, it was the home side which scored next, giving them a 12-3 lead at the break. However, after the re-start, Rowlands landed a penalty to make it 12-6. Sutton also started to match their opponents in the scrums, and with Sutton dominating the lineout they established a strong platform. From one such lineout the hard working Worthington brothers combined to fashion a score for hooker Mike after the ball was won by brother Tony. Then 15 minutes from time, Rowlands turned the game in Sutton’s favour with a crucial drop goal before the Worthington brothers and the Sutton pack repeated their party piece at a lineout to take Sutton into a 12-19 lead with 10 minutes to play. Walsall scored late, but the conversion drifted wide and Sutton ran out the winners. On Saturday, Sutton face Bournville, at the Roger Smoldon Memorial Ground Walmley Road, KO 3 pm. All welcome. | 
