WOODRUSH maintained their title push in the Midlands Division Three West (South) as they edged out Pershore 23-19 on Saturday.

The Wythall outfit had streaked into a healthy lead ,but were forced to defend as their rivals hit back.

And with Dunlop losing to Cheltenham North, Woodrush returned to the top spot.

Played on a day when the Czech RFC had sent a delegation to Woodrush on an exchange visit to promote international development, it proved to be as tight an affair as it was breathless.

The game varied between moments of sublime running rugby to a titanic forward battle.

Woodrush started brightly and piled the pressure on Pershore and Marcus Tomlinson opened the scores with a penalty.

Pershore responded with a converted try to take a 7-3 lead.

Titch Thomas touched down to edge the home side ahead as Woodrush started to dominate the game and scored two more tries. A high ball by John Ford allowed John Board to race past three defenders and record an eye-catching score.

The game threatened to get away from the visitors on the half hour when excellent work by Dan Lavander released Andy Poole away on the left wing, again with work to do, but finishing with aplomb wide out.

With more kicks from Tomlinson, the home side extended their lead to 23-7.

But the final five minutes of the half was a portent for the whole of the second period as Pershore pressed with a lot of scrums on the Woodrush line only to be held out by resilient defence.

The home side barely had a look in during the second 40, but defended doggedly throughout.

Three yellow cards for the hosts for legitimate misdemeanours under significant pressure meant that the green and whites played most of the half with 14 men, but their record as the best side in this league defensively stood tall and Pershore could only manage two tries to narrow the gap significantly, but not enough to overhaul the hosts.

A fine try-saving tackle from Ed Gardiner epitomised Woodrush’s solidity.

Their next game is a trip to title rivals Dunlop on Saturday, January 31.