LUDLOW stretched their advantage at the top of Midlands Two West North to five points with a wonderful whitewash 52-0 victory over Walsall.

Nearest rivals Wolverhampton lost at Camp Hill, leaving Ludlow five points above Tamworth, who moved into second place with a narrow win at Stafford.

Ludlow were without the influential Will Sparrow but his replacement, Tom Amphlett, produced a man-of-the-match performance including a host of sensational runs.

Amphlett’s opposite wing Laurence Hughes got Ludlow off the mark on five minutes, sprinting in after turnover ball was sent wide and fast.

Ludlow had to wait patiently for their second try but, eventually, Joe Doyle dotted down in front of the posts after a fine move featuring Will Hodnett, Jack Lines and Harry Small.

The third try came just before half time after a period of sustained Ludlow pressure with a pushover score from a scrum for Charlie Doyle.

The bonus point came five minutes into the second half as Amphlett’s 60-yard run led to captain Matt Davies crossing.

Amphlett made the next try too with another powerful run down the wing before passing inside to Joe Doyle for his second touchdown of the day. Will Norton’s conversion made it 31-0.

Ludlow did not stop there as three more converted tries - from Davies, Jack Lines and a deserved score for Amphlett – put them past the half-century points mark and capped an emphatic victory.

Ludlow’s seconds were close to making it a double for the club but a missed conversion in the dying minutes meant they had to settle for a 22-22 draw away at Dudley-Kingswinford Wasps.