Silhillians travelled to the Worcestershire spa town of Malvern on the back of two defeats. A narrow loss at Kenilworth and a decent performance against an impressive Lichfield side had yielded only two bonus points for Sils.
Malvern were relegated from National 3 last season and posed a serious threat to Sils.

On a dry and warm afternoon and with the picturesque backdrop of the beautiful rolling Malvern hills both teams took to the pitch.
Sils welcomed back inspirational hooker Lee Jones and fullback Matt Lee following injuries and gave starts to lock Frank Watson and wing Alex Kirke.

The hosts started well and took the lead on three minutes with a penalty.
3 mins Malvern 3-0 Silhillians

Two minutes later the lead was extended as Malvern crossed for the first try of the afternoon. The successful conversion gave the home side a 10-0 lead.
5 mins Malvern 10-0 Silhillians

After a quarter of an hour things got worse for Sils. The referee deemed an infringement at the ruck by Sils Kiwi No.8 Tamanui Hill worthy of a yellow card and 10 minutes in the sin bin. Malvern kicked the resulting penalty.
16 mins Malvern 13-0 Silhillians

Despite being down to 14 men Sils kept their heads and began to move the ball with some success venturing into the Malvern 22 for several spirited attacks. Unfortunately the scant reward was a solitary Steve Hawkins penalty.
21 mins Malvern 13-3 Silhillians

With just 2 minutes left on the sin bin, Sils looked to have weathered the storm well. However Malvern made the extra man count and exploited the extra space to cross for their second 7 point score.
24 mins Malvern 20-3 Silhillians

Vociferous local supporters were getting behind their team and were no doubt expecting more of the same. A bonus point win perhaps? The Sils faithful on the touchline knew what their boys had in the locker and were quietly confident.

With half an hour played and with a full contingent, Sils regrouped and began to look after the ball. Keeping the ball in hand more often and improved tactical kicking to the corners soon paid dividends. An impressive driving maul by the Sils pack allowed flanker Steve Hall to peel off score. Steve Hawkins added the extra 2 points.
32 mins Malvern 20-10 Silhillians

32 mins - Tactical replacement in the front row – Mark O’ Leary off Laurence White on.

With half time approaching and buoyed by the score Sils began to take control of a game that appeared to be slipping away from them. Ill discipline and some apparent disagreements in the Malvern team played straight into Sils hands. Poor tackling in the Malvern midfield allowed fullback Matt Lee to touchdown in the left corner.
39 mins Malvern 20-15 Silhillians

Half Time Malvern 20-15 Silhillians

Sils began the second half just as Malvern had started the first. Straight from the restart Sils attacked the Malvern line. A series of well executed pick and drives from the Sils forwards were well rewarded when hooker Lee Jones managed to burrow under the Malvern defense for his second try of the season. Steve Hawkins added the conversion to give Sils the lead for the first time.
43 mins Malvern 20-22 Silhillians

Malvern heads dropped and the crowd became frustrated as Sils took the game by the scruff of the neck. Intelligent play ensured that Sils denied Malvern the possession they had enjoyed in the first half.

51 mins - Tactical replacement in the front row – Mark Parry off Mark O’Leary on.

More ill discipline at the breakdown gifted Steve Hawkins with another penalty in front of the posts.
58 mins Malvern 20-25 Silhillians

Sils now had control of the game. Their patience, communication and game play were denying Malvern any ball. Some brief forays into the Sils 22 were met with disciplined defense and no reward.

66 mins - Tactical replacement in the second row – Frank Watson off James Hibbard on.

Relentless Sils pressure saw them searching for their fourth try and a bonus point.

71 mins - Tactical replacement in the second row – Rohan Thompson off Nick Elliott on.

Malvern still had one eye on a losing bonus point and even the win which a converted try would give them. Two weeks earlier Sils had found themselves 30-30 at Kenilworth with fulltime approaching, only to gift Kenilworth an injury time penalty for the win.
Sils were not going to make the same mistake. Disciplined ball control and more tactical territorial kicking were again rewarded with a penalty for holding on in the ruck. Steve Hawkins dissected the uprights to give Sils an emphatic win and deny Malvern the losing bonus point.
Full time Malvern 20-28 Silhillians

After the game Sils Head coach Gaz Taylor praised his team for a thoroughly professional performance.
Life in Midlands One is very different prospect. Long periods of the game without possession is something Captain Peter Nicholls and his squad are getting used to. Today Malvern discovered what Sils had in their locker and that a game of rugby is not over after 30mins.

This week Sils welcome Market Bosworth to Copt Heath for a Midlands One (West) fixture, with the North Warwickshire side are still looking for their first win of the season.

Come along and support The Sils, kickoff is at 3pm

Full details of Sils’ fixtures and results can be found at www.Silhillians.com
You can also follow them on Twitter @SilsRugby