A HAT-TRICK of tries from scrum-half Charlie Evans led Clee Hill to a 24-18 victory at Cannock in Midlands 4 West (North).

With No.8 Tom Rawlings impressing on his return from a back injury, Clee Hill were always in control, Evans going over within a few minutes of the kick-off to set the tone for a fully committed display.

Winger Josh Bailey also scored his first try for the club and Steve Adams kicked two conversions.

Skipper Matt Bowen said: “We played really well and Tom Rawlings was outstanding. The referee added ten minutes on at the end but we stayed strong for a very good win.”

A stirring second-half fightback couldn’t save Church Stretton from a narrow 21-18 defeat at Aldridge.

The Samurai conceded three soft first-half tries and despite dominating the second-half, with two tries to none, they were only able to claim a losing bonus point.

Stretton trailed 21-6 at the break, with a couple of penalties from Dom Bradburne, but No.8 Sam Hill raised hopes of a comeback with a early second-half try, stealing the ball in his own half before showing a great turn of pace to race clear and score under the posts. The conversion was added by captain Tom Chard and a second try followed soon after, with winger Dan Harris crossing in the corner.

With the gap down to three and over a quarter of the game left, Stretton had high hopes of snatching victory. They kicked for touch from several penalties and when they did gain a penalty within range with the clock in the red, the blustery wind pulled Bradburne’s angled effort just wide to deny them a deserved draw.