LEDBURY came away with a narrow 17-12 defeat after making the long trek to face an unknown foe in Whitchurch in very much uncharted territory

Somewhat hesitant in the early exchanges Ledbury allowed the more physically robust home pack impose themselves.

The visitors were forced to tackle the relentless Whitchurch forwards, coached by former Wales and British Lion Andy Powell, until space was found out wide and winger Ben Vallings made the initial break which scrum half Jake Dodwell finished off by crossing the line to score and Danny Nicholas converted (7-0).

This frustratingly delayed wake up call for Ledbury finally spurred them into action and saw the backs putting the ball through the hands but Whitchurch were more industrious and aggressive, giving their visitors no time to capitalise when they had possession.

Iolo Bubb’s kicking was however on point and there were numerous occasions when his boot got Ledbury out of trouble.

A superb move on the halfway line saw Whitchurch winger Vallings scythe through the Ledbury defence and would have scored, but for some valiant tackling.

Ben Yeo continued to be a thorn in the flesh of Whitchurch, with some great sniping carries, which allowed the Herefordshire side to build a platform, but sadly they conceded a penalty when they looked most threatening.

The deadlock was broken when Whitchurch centre Isaac Wilding broke the line and eventually fed Vallings, who touched down in the corner for his second (12-0).

Ledbury finished the half with an equally fine try of their own when, after a concerted period of pressure, Ben Lewis smashed his way over from close range and Iolo Bubb converted (12-7).

The second half saw Ledbury keep the home crowd quiet as they pinned Whitchurch in their own 22, until conjuror Yeo was unleashed with a great solo run to score in the corner with a difficult Bubb conversion (12-12).

Spoils even and the last quarter of the match saw both sides throwing everything into attack, but it was Whitchurch centre Wilding who evaded two tacklers to score the decisive try after a period of pressure (17-12).

The apparent turning point was when Ledbury managed to steal a Whitchurch lineout and were poised to score when an unforced knock on gifted a scrum to Whitchurch which enabled them to relieve the pressure.

Ledbury’s losing bonus point resulted in them maintain their league position above Malvern and Hereford.

On Saturday (October 19) Ledbury head to Cheltenham.