Anyone expecting a stroll in the park for Bromsgrove will have had a shock as, belying their lowly position in Regional 1 Midlands, the visitors proved quite a handful in this last league match of the season. A penalty after 24 minutes and a converted try in the 35th saw Bromsgrove leading 10-0 at half time but not before captain Ed Spalding had to be helped off the pitch after sustaining a horrible knee injury.

Old Hales came out blazing in the second half and a breakaway try soon cut the deficit to just three points. It was now 10-7 and truly "game on" but we needn't have worried: Bromsgrove responded quickly with a second converted try restoring the lead and some magnificent defence limiting the visitors to just one penalty. It had been a very bruising encounter.