MALVERN rounded off their 2016/17 Midlands Two West (South) campaign with a 25-19 victory over relegated Nuneaton Old Edwardians at Spring Lane on Saturday.
In a high-tempo game of end-to-end rugby against a Nuneaton side who were anxious to avoid relegation, Malvern demonstrated skill and tenacity to claim their sixth successive win to end the season in fifth on 65 points.
In front of a packed Spring Lane crowd, the visitors pressed forward with waves of attacks in the early stages, but a resilient Malvern defence held firm on each occasion.
Tom Hale was then forced to leave the field after a knee drop to his head and was replaced by Ben Essenhigh, as Malvern struggled to get a foothold in the game.
Another Nuneaton attack and some desperate defending saw Malvern’s Craig Freeman sin-binned, which allowed the Warwickshire side to force their way over for a try before the break.
Nuneaton added to their lead in the second period with another try following a quick drive upfield, which put Malvern’s five-game unbeaten run in jeopardy.
But the hosts responded with a try of their own when Jack Curtis made a break and fed Ben Essenhigh for a sensational breakaway score.
Malvern continued to make inroads and a penalty saw Ben King bring the score back to within four points, before Ieuan Mustow sped through the visiting midfield and fed Conor Giggle for a try to take the lead for the first time.
But knowing they had to win to avoid relegation, Nuneaton stepped up a gear as their full-back weaved through a stunned Malvern defence to score a converted try to edge six points ahead.
Back came the home side, as Essenhigh crossed the whitewash following impressive forward play to reduce the deficit to a single point as the clock wound down.
King’s conversion cannoned off the post, but Malvern’s spirit never dampened as they bullied their way forward one more time, which saw Curtis evade some desperate tackles and offload to full-back Niall Potter-Farrant, who grounded to seal the win and consign Nuneaton to relegation.
New director of rugby Rob Cook will now take the reigns from head coach Billy McGinty as the club prepare to recruit ahead of next season, which will see them play in four derby matches following promotion for Droitwich and Evesham and relegation for Kenilworth, from their respective leagues.