It also produced a bonus point win that keeps the Saxons very much in the 4-way race at the top of National 2 North. In the process wing Nathan Bressington scored a well-taken hat-trick, further extending his record tryscoring tally to 59 in club colours.

The Saxons’ starting lineup featured just 2 changes from the previous week. Bressington reclaimed the 14 jersey from Jamie Hearn, a move that handed Matt Farrington the goal kicking duties, while Sione Tu’ipolotu was promoted from the bench, trading places with Pete White. On the bench were Stefan Cooksammy and Chris Depper, making a welcome return after several weeks’ injury layoff.

Bromsgrove elected to attack the Finstall Road end first, benefitting from a gusting southerly wind that blew diagonally across the pitch towards the main entrance. The kick-off was overcooked, giving the Saxons’ an early run at their opponents, but the move stalled when hooker Dale Garner became the first of several to be penalised by referee Phil Watters for not releasing at the tackle. A Ben Hughes lineout indiscretion allowed Bromsgrove to advance into the Saxons’ 22 but their attacks were comfortably repelled and eventually they turned the ball over in the tackle and their no.8 - Nile Dacres’ brother Soloman - was penalised for side entry.

Gary Dipple kicked for touch, as he was to on four further occasions in the next drive as a rash of Bromsgrove tackle & maul infringements were penalised. Mr Watters lost patience and yellow carded flanker Dave Hughes for a second side entry that disrupted a maul heading for the line, a penalty try award would not have been inappropriate but the Saxons pack worked another lineout catch & drive, shunting the depleted defenders over the goal line for Nigel Mukarati to score. Farrington couldn’t convert though. 9min 0-5.

The next few phases saw Bromsgrove opt to kick possession at the Saxons but fail to secure their own scrum ball from the visiting threequarters’ handling errors. After his pack had driven the hosts off a ruck Dipple slipped through a gap and was brought down just short of the line, the ball was worked left where Ben Hughes displayed great strength and balance to stay on his feet and drive over to score. Again it went unconverted. 15min 0-10.

An overcooked lineout throw gifted possession to Eji Uzoigwe who carved through the hosts’ backline but was penalised for holding on at the tackle, though possession was coughed back up for a squint lineout throw. Mukarati broke right from the base of the scrum and passed out of the tackle to Tu’ipolotu who spotted a back 3 defence failing to work as a unit and simply ghosted through to score. Farrington finally had a conversion attempt near the posts that he successfully landed. 19min 0-17.

Another overcooked restart gifted scrum feed on the halfway, the Saxons working the same move, this time Tu’ipolotu drawing 2 defenders before passing to Tom Jarvis who took the ball at pace, sold fullback Ollie Bache an outrageous dummy and waltzed over to score the bonus point try under the posts. Farrington added the extras, 22min 0-24 and looking a bit of a procession.

Hughes returned from the sinbin and this seemed to galvanise a Bromsgrove side staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat. At the same time the Saxons game went off the boil for 15min, during which time they got on the wrong side of Mr Watters and conceded six penalties to none. But Bromsgrove were unable to penetrate the defences and the visitors woke from their slumbers when the hosts knocked on just outside the Saxons’ 22. Ben Barkley secured the ball and drove through several defenders, it was worked quickly right to Dipple whose long cut-out pass found Dan Thompson. He executed a simple draw & give to Jarvis, and with the cover struggling to get across Bressington gratefully accepted a scoring pass to touch down in the right corner. It went unconverted, halftime 0-29.

Mr Watters was no happier with the Saxons throughout much of the 2nd half, the penalty count for the first half hour again six to none making it very difficult for them to exert any sustained pressure. One of these penalties was kicked to touch in the Saxons’ 22, the hosts attempting their own catch & drive and drawing a penalty try award when Mike Hill disrupted a driving maul with a side entry. 47min 7-29.

The visitors struck back when replacements Chris Depper and Pete White linked down the right side from the base of a scrum near the Saxons’ 22. White found Jarvis who injected pace into the move before setting Bressington up to again outpace the back 3 defence and score from just inside his own half. Farrington converted, 53min 7-36.

The Saxons attempted to run scrum turnover ball from deep in their own 22 but were caught cold when they failed to commit numbers to a breakdown and were turned over themselves. Desperate last-ditch defence held the attackers out but at the expense of a yellow card for White. The hosts couldn’t make the man advantage tell though and White’s return heralded a high-tempo last 10 minutes that saw the penalty flow reversed as the hosts shipped five. A quick tap deep in Bromsgrove’s 22 set up Bressington’s 3rd try as White’s long floated pass allowed him to canter in at the corner in the dying seconds. Full time 7-41.

Coach Mike Umaga commented ‘We started well but seemed to lose our way during the game, we achieved dominance in most areas but got on the wrong side of the referee for much of the time, I can’t say the two are related but it was deeply frustrating to watch. But the bottom line is - job done, 5 league points secured. My man of the match was Nathan Bressington who played really well on return from injury, he just keeps going and it’s great to see him back out there’.