Old Laurentians 7 pts Luctonians 29

LUCTONIANS gained their first Powergen Midlands 1 away win since October - and their first ever at the Warwickshire club's ground - with some of the bite and panache that had been missing in recent matches.

Luctonians opened the scoring in the sixth minute when wing Andy Garrod was given an overlap on the left and crossed in the corner. The visiting backs looked comfortable with the ball in hand and fly-half Dan Hinton used the strong breeze behind him to kick for field position when necessary.

A short period of Laurentians pressure saw Luctonians flanker Ben Moss yellow carded, but the pack absorbed the loss and continued to get the better of their opponents, particularly in the set-pieces.

Luctonians' next try came in the 33rd minute as lock Paul Hart was driven over from a lineout and their third score came shortly before half time when Moss stole a Laurentians' ball on the Luctonians 22.

Scrum-half Steve Saint took the ball right and on the half-way line released winger Ryan Henshaw whose pace took him clear of the opposition to score in the corner.

Luctonians turned around at the half with a 15-point lead and then stepped up a gear with Hinton choosing his options well and the backs always looking a dangerous proposition.

Flanker Jabs Greasley got the next try as he joined the line at pace to cross under the post and minutes later he got his second when he appeared at Roger Chilman's shoulder for the try-scoring pass as the centre burst through. With Garrod converting both tries, Luctonians had shot into a 29-0 lead within 10 minutes of restart.

To their credit, Lauren-tians hit back immediately when number eight Dave Longrigg smothered a clearing kick and beat the cover to the touch down. A fine conversion from the touch-line by skipper Denzil Evans lifted Laurentians' spirits further and in the final 20 minutes they defended with renewed resolution to deny Luctonians another score.