Kenilworth headed to Worcestershire to recommence their league campaign with the aim of keeping the pressure on league leaders Lichfield.

They achieved this with another bonus point victory over a hard working Droitwich side who are struggling at the other end of the division.

On a rather bleak, grey afternoon the teams tried their best to showcase some running rugby but a very heavy pitch and a fair bit of rustiness, caused by a lack of rugby since 11 December led to a rather stop-start affair.

Again Kenilworth seemed to have the edge up front albeit with a few issues at the lineout, however after eight minutes a penalty was kicked to the corner and Mike Ryan crashed over from the resultant maul.

The returning Harry O'Brien was unsuccessful with the difficult conversion.

Five minutes later the Kenilworth pack put pressure on the home scrum, and the Droitwich scrum half saw his pass intercepted by the alert Sam Peppitt who dashed in for a try which was converted by O'Brien.

Despite a lot of pressure from the visitors, Droitwich defended well and showed a great deal of spirit which belied their league position.

However their defence was breached again after a scrum in their 22, the ball was worked right to giant Kenilworth winger Jayde Cruickshank who powered over for an unconverted try.

In the period before half time Droitwich enjoyed a fair amount of possession and the Kenilworth defence was severely tested however they ultimately held firm.

Droitwich made a break up the right hand side and following a kick through, Kenilworth full back Garrett Bell secured the ball but was scythed down by a sliding tackle which resulted in a red card for the Droitwich player.

The second half started badly for Kenilworth and Bell himself, he overcommitted on his own kick chase and caught the receiver high, with referee Leonie Pryor having no option but to send him to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

The next 15 minutes were very disjointed with Kenilworth falling foul of referee Prior on several occasions and finding themselves defending their line as Droitwich attacked with vigour.

However Kenilworth managed to win the ball back and showed patience to create an opportunity for flying winger David Opoku-Fordjour to sprint in for the bonus point try which was converted by O'Brien.

Another excellent counter-attack saw Kenilworth show impressive dexterity in the poor conditions and from a ruck, replacement centre Todd Freemantle kicked cross-field for Ryan to collect and score his second try which was converted by O'Brien.

Kenilworth had gained more confidence and this was to prove their undoing when they tried to run out from their own 22 and the dropped ball was eagerly picked up by a Droitwich player, who scored under the posts for a converted consolation try.

There was time for one more score from the visitors and again some good passing and support play allowed flanker Mikkel Andresen to cross for the final try which was not converted.

Overall it was a case of job done but a lot to work on, Droitwich worked incredibly hard to stifle the attacking threat of a Kenilworth side who know they have the capability to improve over the coming weeks. Prop George Walsh and flanker Myles Hibbs were impressive in the poor conditions with new combination Nathan Tilsley and Paul Wells starting to work well together in the centres.

Kenilworth take on Hereford RFC at home on Saturday with a 2.15pm kick off

Kenilworth's 2XV took on Melbourne from Derbyshire at home and won an entertaining game against a strong visiting side 33-26.

The Kenilworth Women's 1XV battled hard against their visiting opponents from Cheltenham Tigers but found it tough going in a 41-0 defeat. They continue show superb spirit and are learning and improving each week in an incredibly challenging league.

More Kenilworth news stories:

- What's on in Kenilworth this weekend

- Plans for electric battery factory at Coventry Airport approved by district council