Upton are beginning to get vertigo after this Midlands West 4 (south) victory placed them joint top with Worcester and Dunlop after the later beat Wanderers on Saturday.

Playing with a strong breeze in the first half Upton struggled to play positively as the conditions proved as difficult with the advantage as without it. Passing through the backs was almost impossible as the ball continually floated on the wind. Kings Norton also counter rucked the visitors with ease as they played with less than their normal passion. Fly half Keyte missed two long range penalties but it was his deft chip over the Kings Norton backs, with 10 minutes of the half left, that allowed Alex Pimlow to race through from half way to score under the posts. Keyte Converted to make the score 0-7. This slight break in play allowed coach Nat Kelsey and Prop Lancett to gather the players together and instill the need for more control particularly at the ruck.

This had a galvanizing effect; from the kick off Matt Jefferys caught the restart and charged into the defensive line. Quick ruck ball allowed Upton to move down field and put pressure on the Kings Norton line. After successive rucks on the line Heeley popped the ball from the base to the bulldozing loose head Russell Price who barged over the line down the blind side to make the score 0-12.

The half time team talk centred around the fact that Upton needed to keep ball in hand as they played into the wind; Kings Norton would penalise any mistakes with long kicks down field. What transpired was more than could have been hoped for as Kings Norton's only foray into the Upton 22 ended with a penalty (3-12) and Upton produced a half of straight line running towards the try line that resulted in 3 tries.

The first of these three tries (Upton's third) came after left wing Will Carr fielded a down field kick in his own half ,spread the ball wide to Pimlow who ghosted between the defence and raced in to score, 3-19.

Upton's fourth try came after Dan Keyte slipped an inside pass to Price. He made 30 yards before popping to Number 8 Bookham, he weaved his way towards the line before inside centre Mills cut a superb line to score. 3-26.

The final try was based on team work and individual brilliance. As Upton again played with fantastic continuity the ball was finally thread out to Keyte 30 metres out. With a dummy, hand off and side step he eventually strolled in under the posts to make the final score 3-33.

Next week Upton entertain Shipston in their next league encounter.

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