MALVERN were held 24-24 at home by lowly Leamington in Midlands Two West (South) at Spring Lane.

The visitors started brightly, catching Malvern cold early on as they moved the ball at pace and cut through a lethargic home defence for the opening converted try.

Malvern started to get their act together and George Withers carried on the break before Laurie Essenhigh fizzed through to score an unconverted try.

The much-improved Warwickshire side then defended well and cut through the midfield to score and convert against the run of play.

Leamington attacked repeatedly, putting in several phases of play to stretch the home defence and score to go 14 points clear.

Malvern took the game to their opponents, forcing a scrum on the 22 and recycling the ball well until Essenhigh nipped in for his second score with Ben King converting.

The hosts then won two penalties in succession and put in an effective catch-and-drive move for Stuart Clark to claim the try although they were unable to convert from out wide.

Malvern’s fightback ensured that the half-time score was 17-19 and set the scene for an exciting second period.

But they let Leamington off the hook at times before a scrum on the home five-metre mark was won and the ball recycled to give the visitors an unconverted try. A series of unforced errors had the home supporters on edge as the final whistle approached.

Leamington were forced to defend desperately, which caused two of their players to be sin-binned in quick succession as they tried to claw onto their narrow lead.

Malvern’s breakthrough was fittingly provided by skipper Luke Milton, who collected the ball as he came into the line and powered through to score in the final minute.

There was now time only for the conversion, possibly from the most difficult position of the day, but King kept a cool head and slotted the two points to claim a worthy draw.

Director of rugby David Irish said: “Although we could arguably have won the match but for some poor decision-making in the heat of the game, I was pleased with the way the lads stuck to their guns and snatched the draw at the end.

“All credit to Leamington, who came to play rugby, and both sides served up plenty of excitement in a clean match played at pace.

“We are still developing our young side and have given three of our development squad outings in the last two games.

“We now face Bedworth at home (on Saturday, 2.15pm kick-off) in a rearranged fixture before taking on a Spartans team, also at Spring Lane, who have shown some good form this season,” added Irish.