Planning pays off as Dudley Kingswinford pop corks after title win
Dudley Kingswinford’s director of rugby Neil Shillingford was delighted with his side’s Regional One Midlands title win which now sees them promoted to the National League.
DK rounded off a season of on-field success at the weekend with a 41-5 victory over Broadstreet.
Callum Nicholls, Mark Harrison and Joseph Heatley all scored tries in the first half, before Leo Davies, Thomas Walker, Frederick Morgan and Joe Dunn added four more after the break.
Shillingford said the promotion was not something they were necessarily expecting but it was brilliant nonetheless.
He said: “At the beginning of the year, we sat down with the coaching staff and we recruited well, players-wise.
“We got some good players who came across from Stourbridge and you set realistic targets with it being our second year at the level.
“We had a mid-table finish the year before, we wanted to be in that top six in that promotion mix.
“We planned to get to Christmas and reassess from there.
“We got there and we were top of the pile and you think it is doable.
“Getting promoted you get the realisation of what it brings for next season, and it will be hard work, but Saturday was all about enjoying the moment.
“It was brilliant, all the junior section was down and all the other teams, it was probably one of the biggest crowds we have had down there all season. If we can keep bringing the quality of the home-grown players through then it makes my job so much easier.
“As you move up the levels it is about finding the right balance, we want to bring our younger players through and give them experience but you have got to bring those players in from outside.
“Sometimes it is not about the quality of the player it is about the person and the fit for the ethos at the club.”
Elsewhere, Stourbridge fell to a nail-biting 34-33 defeat away at Bournville in National Two North despite a Jack Lea hat-trick.
Lea scored his third try in the 77th minute of the match as Stourbridge searched for a late winner, but they were unable to find one. Mark Ashley Beck and Michael Heaney also scored tries.
In Counties Two Midlands West (North), Handsworth got a 43-38 victory over Market Drayton in a fascinating encounter.
In Counties Three Midlands West (North), Cannock and Eccleshall played out an enthralling clash. Cannock were the victors, narrowly edging past their Staffordshire rivals by one point to end up with an 18-17 victory.
In the same league, Willenhall thrashed Wednesbury 52-0 and Warley were also on the end of a hammering losing by 20-53 to Ludlow.
Bloxwich won by a 16-point margin when they got the better of Erdington in a Counties Four Midlands West (North) in a game that ended 35-19.
