CHARLIE Powell crossed twice as Stratford-upon-Avon RFC battled to a 20-5 bonus point win at bottom club Berkswell and Balsall.
Powell touched down either side of the break while Tom Houlahan and Gwil Davies both scored tries at Honiley Road.
The result means Stratford sit sixth in the Regional 2 Midlands West table.
Stratford lost Tony Yates to the sin bin early on for a high tackle on his first start for the club as Berkswell missed the resulting penalty kick.
And the visitors then somehow failed to break the deadlock from a driving maul and a goalline dropout moments later after Stratford knocked-on close to the Berkswell line.
More Stratford pressure led to a Berkswell player receiving a yellow card before the away side’s Aussie recruit Houlahan saw his effort pulled back for crossing in midfield.
And both teams had another player sent to the sin bin as the referee lost patience with the game’s lack of discipline.
However, Stratford eventually scored the game’s first try on the stroke of half time when Powell touched down after the visitors created a three-on-two down the blindside.
From the restart, Berkswell won a penalty and were eventually awarded a penalty try following a powerful driving maul with Stratford’s Bron Koziel sent to the sin bin.
Stratford remained on top despite the numerical disadvantage and, once back up to 15 players, the visitors scored their second try when Houlahan dotted down in the left corner after a number of phases.
And the away side struck again as Gwil Davies scored in the same corner from another well-worked move before Powell touched down the visitors’ bonus point try with the last play of the game.
Stratford are next in action away at Ludlow on Saturday, March 9 with kick-off at 3pm at The Linney.
