Woodrush leave it late to beat Shrews (From Redditch Advertiser)

Woodrush leave it late to beat Shrews

9:00pm Friday 28th September 2012 in Sport

Woodrush 20, Shrewsbury 17

WOODRUSH snatched victory from a Shrewsbury side who made all the early running in the RFU Midlands Senior Vase first round.

From the word go, the visitors ran in two quick tries and kicked a conversion before Woodrush knew what had hit them.

Steve Smart managed to narrow the deficit to 12-3 with a penalty and that appeared to give Woodrush the impetus to start clawing their way back into the game.

Andre Poole powered his way over for a try which Josh Tomlinson improved upon, cutting Shrewsbury’s lead to 12-10 at half time.

The Shropshire side started the second-half in the same manner as the first and quickly forced their way over for a third try.

Tomlinson responded with another penalty to keep the hosts in contention at 17-13 adrift.

It wasn’t until the closing moments that injury-hit Smart came back off the bench to score the winning try, which he converted himself, with a telling break from midfield to snatch victory.

Woodrush are back home at Icknield Street this Saturday when they entertain Evesham (3pm) in a Midlands Three West (South) clash.

Meanwhile, the club are mourning the death of Tony Morris, who was landlord of the Peacock Inn along with his wife Hilda from 1965 to 1993.

The Peacock, which is situated opposite the Woodrush ground in Icknield Street, was second home to many of the club’s members during Morris’ tenure and he will be sadly missed by the hundreds of past players and locals in the Wythall and Hollywood area.

Morris’ son Wayne played for Woodrush over many years while his daughter Hilary is still heavily involved with the club’s mini and junior section.