DAN Protherough labelled last weekend’s 27-15 away bonus-point win at Bridgnorth as Bromsgrove’s biggest result of the Midlands Premier season so far.
The fifth-placed Boars ousted their rivals, who are fourth, in convincing fashion at the Edgar Davis Ground, much in part to a dominant first-half showing which left the visitors 17-3 ahead at the break.
A brace of tries from Tom Sadler, and one each for Ed Spalding and Jack Tharme provided the bulk of the points in Shropshire, with Will Harris adding two conversions and a penalty to complete the scoring.
Protherough was delighted with a ninth win of the season for his side, but took particular satisfaction from the defensive solidity displayed throughout the encounter.
“I think most will feel it was our best performance of the season as a whole team,” he said.
“The win against Sheffield towards the start of the season was also satisfying, but Bridgnorth put us under real pressure and our defence stayed firm – it was a really good team effort.
“I think a result like that has been coming. We showed it against Sheffield and for 60 minutes against Bournville recently, so it’s not that big of a shock.
“It was a case of not letting our discipline slip and leaving nothing in the tank at the end of the game. Bridgnorth had ten to 15 minutes of pressure at the end, but we didn’t relent at all defensively.”
Last weekend’s encounter proved the third and final match in a row against a top-four side for Bromsgrove.
“You always want to challenge these kinds of teams,” said Protherough.
“For us, the focus is to build on this year ready for next season, so you can’t accept sloppy performances or a sloppy mindset in any game.
“We shouldn’t have lost some of the games that we have, especially in some of the positions we’ve been in.
“We’ve got a weekend off now before Broadstreet on [Saturday] February 1. They’ll be a really big challenge but one we look forward to.”
While the first XV are not in action, the Seconds are involved in a semi-final in the Midlands Reserve League Cup against Luctonians at Finstall Road on Saturday (2.15pm) – a fixture which the Boars chief will be keeping a close eye on.
“Myself and quite a few of the lads will be there to support the Seconds in their semi-final. They also had a good win against Bridgnorth last weekend,” Protherough added.
“The opposition they’re going up against will be very tough. They’ve been the benchmark for second teams in the Midlands.”
