BROMSGROVE missed out on clinching the North Midlands Plate after they were narrowly defeated 24-22 at Dudley Kingswinford.
Whitchurch had taken the lead inside the first minute as they converted a penalty but the lead did not last long as the Plate holders came back strongly with Josh Holt crashing over for a try before Richard Mahoney added the extras to put the Boars 7-3 up.
However, the Shropshire side struck back to take a 10-7 lead when Ricky Morgan’s quick-thinking from a penalty allowed him to find Robert Leighton who scored at the near post for a covnerted try.
With both sides showing attacking purpose, Craig Mortlemans made a fantastic run before finding Phil Horton but the opportunity to score evaded him following a knock-on.
Whitchurch went straight up the other end to go 17-7 in front when Leighton’s effort to claim the try was picked up by Tom Hale who bundled over followed by the conversion.
Despite being ten points behind, the Boars continued to create chances but poor handling ensured Whitchurch remained 17-7 in front going into the break.
After the interval, Whitchurch increased their lead tom 24-7 when some slack play by the Boars allowed Henry Hockenhull to touch down before Oliver Brown kicked the conversion.
At this point, the Boars took the game by the scruff of the neck and reduced the arrears to 24-12 Liam Marshall touched donw from some good work from the blindside.
Bromsgrove drew closer to Whitchurch when Paul Norris, who was having an outstanding game, crashed over to make it 24-17. Mahoney missed the conversion.
The Boars were looking to attack at every opportunity and Ben Meadows closed the gap to just two points when he touched down but once again the conversion was missed.
With the clock running down, the Baors continued to pile on the pressure and Mahoney had the chance to win it for his side when Whitchurch were blown up for offside at the ruck.
However, with the very last kick of the game, Mahoney missed the penalty to ensure Whitchurch held on to take the Plate winners medal by a score of 24-22.
