Pershore tasted opening day defeat at the hands of league newcomers Manor Park on Saturday afternoon.
In the early stages Pershore showed that the long trip to Nuneaton was out of their system as the opened the scoring within 1 minute of the start. After the Pershore pack turned over a scrum a break on the wing saw Stefan Ellis dive over the line. Lewis Dolphin was unsuccessful with the conversion attempt. However persistent indiscipline at the breakdown had a heavy cost for the visitors as they gave away two kickable penalties which were duly converted. The other issue which caused Pershore a huge amount of problems was the inaccuracy of the lineout. With the referee constantly penalising the not straight throw- ins.
At 6-5 Pershore lost prop Karl Evans to another knee injury and lock Luke Hardiman to the sin bin. Whilst down to 14 players Manor Park extended their lead with a converted try. Pershore managed to close the deficit before half time when hooker Jameson Lane darted over the line after good work from Hope & Whyte. Dolphin converted.
In the second half Pershore were again a victim of their own inconsistencies, continuing to be poor at the lineout and penalised at the breakdown. Manor Park Extended their lead with a well taken try whilst Ellis added to his tally with a superb effort after a break by Adrian Hanson. Dolphin added a let penalty to make the score 24-20 and get Pershore within bonus point territory, only for a last minute try by Manor Park gave the home side a 31-2- victory.
Meanwhile Pershore 2nd XV got their league campaign off to a bright start when they entertained Bromyard. Pershore ran out victors, winning 56-7
Pershore’s 1st XV are back in action next week when they entertain Old Wheatleyans at Piddle Park, 3pm kick off

Photo's of the game can be seen on the Manor Park website https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/manorpark/photos/1st-v-pershore-414812.html#