Nuneaton 17, Bromsgrove 15

BROMSGROVE missed out on a last-gasp draw after a stirring fight back during a bad tempered clash in Nuneaton.

Trailing 17-0 at one stage, the Boars roared back to earn a bonus points.

But it could have been more if Jon Critchlow had not missed two attempts to convert a late try.

His first kick, which missed, was retaken after he was distracted by a Nuneaton fan blowing a raspberry but his normally accurate boot failed to hit the target.

It was a dramatic way to end a game which saw Bromsgrove suffer a host of injuries.

Sam Montieri suffered a bang to the back of the head and was stretchered off the pitch late in the second half, and Dave Lewis was lost to the team after his hamstring pull 30 minutes into the first half.

James Upton was also red carded for fighting with 15 minutes to go and was joined by the Nuneaton centre Luke Wakefield, who allegedly made illegal contact with Upton’s eye and received a punch in the face as his reward.

The match was punctuated by several penalties for technical offences at the scrum and ruck, and Nuneaton benefited from this as their kicker, Lee Chapman dealt with the windy conditions.

With strong winds affecting the game, Critchlow missed an opportunity early on.

Bromsgrove's failure to score in the first half was to prove costly for the visitors, and Nuneaton took an 11-0 half-time lead after scoring a try and two penalties.

Two more successful kicks saw Bromsgrove trailing by 17 points.

But with Phil Horton punching holes in the home defence, the away side rallied.

Critchlow touched down in the corner but in the swirling conditions, missed the conversion.

Both teams were reduced to 14 men when Upton and Wakefield were dismissed.

Chris Morgan then forced his way over to reduce the deficit to seven points.

In the final minute, the Boars' fight back seemed complete when Tom Hunt finished off a flowing move, only got Critchlow to miss both attempts at the conversion.

Mid-table rivals Old Haleslonians visit Finstall Park on Saturday (3pm ko).