ED SPALDING crossed twice as Bromsgrove RFC secured a hard-fought 35-26 bonus point win against high-flying Banbury.
Spalding dotted down either side of the break with Josh Holt and Drew Harper also crossing for tries while Will Tanner added 15 points from the kicking tee at Finstall Park.
And the result means Bromsgrove sit sixth in the Regional 1 Midlands table, having won four of their opening six matches.
Banbury raced out of the blocks to take a 12-point lead after just 10 minutes before Rich Hance broke free down the right and passed to Holt who beat two defenders to score in the corner with Tanner adding the extras.
The Boars struck again five minutes before the interval as Spalding fended off a tackle and almost had the ball ripped away before somehow stretching to the line to dot down in the corner.
And Bromsgrove went into the break with a slender three-point lead as Tanner kicked a penalty after Banbury were penalised for offside late on in the first half.
However, Banbury responded with a converted try shortly after half time, capitalising on a Bromsgrove knock-on to score.
The home side hit back in style as Spalding collected a deep kick before squeezing through the smallest of gaps in the Banbury line to score his second try of the match from 70-metres out with Tanner converting.
Banbury looked set to take control of the contest with 20 minutes to play after Hance illegally brought down a rolling maul with a penalty try awarded and Hance sent to the sin bin.
However, the 14-men of Bromsgrove dug deep to reduce the deficit within one minute of Hance’s yellow card as Tanner kicked a penalty from in front of the posts.
And Tanner kicked another penalty just before Hance returned to the field to put the Boars ahead with eight minutes left to play before Harper scored the Boars bonus point try following a catch and drive move from a lineout.
