THERE was a mixed weekend for our teams in Midlands 2 West (North) as Cleobury Mortimer picked up a big win but Ludlow were beaten on the road.

Cleobury moved up to eighth in the table thanks to a convincing 25-14 victory at home to Newcastle (Staffs).

Winger Sid Gittens got the hosts off to the perfect start in the tenth minute when he broke away from inside his own half to secure the first try of the day.

Hayden Edwards converted Gittins’ effort and then added two penalties before half time.

Captain Sam Bills went over ten minutes into the second half, again converted by Edwards, before Will Watts scored in the 60th minute to give Cleobury the points.

It was a case of what could have been for Ludlow as they went down 45-33 at high-flying Crewe & Nantwich.

Ludlow, still with just one league win to their names this term, went ahead early on as Will Sparrow scored and then converted his own try.

Crewe & Nantwich levelled shortly after but Ludlow took the lead once more as quick ball from the ruck was fed to Jack Lines on the wing to score.

Lines and Sparrow both crossed over again as Ludlow scored four times in the first half.

Mikey Jones’ men led 26-14 at the interval but injuries to Jones and fellow prop Theo Hodnett allowed Crewe & Nantwich to take control of the scrum.

Jack Small also received a yellow card for a tip tackle as Crewe scored three tries and two penalties to race into the lead.

Joe Doyle replied with a try for Ludlow, that was converted by Sparrow, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite the defeat, Jones was pleased with the performance and the try bonus point.

He said: “We scored early and controlled the game in the first half. I think they underestimated us and we gave them a scare.

“To play away at second in the League, just getting a point was our aim at the start of the day and we had that in the bag at half time.”

Ludlow host bottom club Kidderminster this Saturday and Jones added: “It’s a massive game for both sides.

"If we win by five points, we could go seven points ahead and that’s a big gap early on in the season.”

In Midlands 4 West (North), Church Stretton’s winless start to the season continued as they were beaten 27-22 at home by local rivals Clee Hill, who moved up to fifth as a result.

Tenbury picked up their first Midlands 4 West (South) victory of the campaign with an excellent 19-14 success against Harbury.

Elsewhere, Bishop's Castle were defeated 33-27 at Linley despite a stirring second half performance in Midlands 5 West (North).