Pershore completed there pre season matches with a defeat at home to Burntwood on Saturday afternoon. Much changed from last week Pershore certainly started brightly. After a scrum near the Burntwood line Marin Hope picked the ball up and was stopped just short of the line. From the ruck prop Karl Evans crashed over from close range. New signing Scott Williams slotted the conversion to give the home team a 7-0 lead. That was as good as it got for Pershore in the first half. They really struggled to defend against Burntwoods ability to off load in the tackle and were punished for it with 5 unanswered first half tries.
The second half started badly with Pershore in possession but a Burntwood centre intercepting a pass and scoring a converted try. The home side then finally started impose themselves on the game. Captain Andy Jenkinson dived on his own kick and chase to score. Hope & Evans were both involved in the third try and it was Hope who crashed over. The final try saw Hope and fellow back rower James Martin combine close to the line but it was second row Luke Hardiman who scored the final try of the day but it was too little too late. 43-26 to Burntwood.
Pershore’s second team, under the leadership of new captain Ben Yeates faired better with a 31-12 win over the same opponents.