More to come from Ludlow after derby triumph

Jones’ men maintained their perfect start in rugby’s Regional Two West Midlands with a 38-14 success away to Shropshire rivals Whitchurch on Saturday.

But Jones insists they have yet to hit top gear as they prepare for the first home of the season this weekend, when Wolverhampton are the visitors.

“We will face some hard tests but we are on a good roll at the moment,” said Jones. “We are three from three and all those wins have come away from home which is all the more pleasing.

“I don’t think we played overly well on Saturday, but what we are doing is converting our chances.

“The performance might not have been as good, but we were very clinical and took our chances when we got the ball.

“We are not quite at our best yet and I definitely feel there is a lot more to come from us.

“We are maturing as a side with each game, scoring points at good times and our decision making is getting better.

“And that will continue with the more games we play.”

Jones is keen to get off to a good start on home soil against a Wolverhampton side who have started the season with two wins and a defeat.

“The pressure is on us now to make sure our home form is as good as our away form,” added Jones. “The players aren’t getting carried away and the coaching staff will be keeping their feet on the ground.

We don’t look too far ahead, we just concentrate on trying to get the performance right each week and we will see where that takes us.”

Whitchurch were left to bemoan their own ill-discipline for the second week running.

Ludlow kept their heads throughout, opening the scoring with a converted try in the 12th minute.

Whitchurch looked positive though and the forwards, with a new front row, started to gel together.

With a great drive up the pitch, the Whitchurch forwards helped level matters in the 17th minute as Jimmy Holland managed to ground the ball and Danny Nicholas added the conversion.

The young Whitchurch team lost their concentration, giving away two penalties just before half-time to trail 13-7.

Ludlow extended that advantage to 20-7 just after the interval, but Whitchurch stayed in touch as Steven Bloor touched down as the forwards again went over the line. Nicholas converted once more.

But the key moment in the game arrived when Whitchurch gave away another penalty that Ludlow converted, and the referee issued a yellow card to Whitchurch.

Ludlow took great advantage of this, scoring two tries while the player was off the field and then adding another just before full-time.