UTTOXETER RFC have been given a bye to the second round of the RFU Junior Midlands Vase after Birmingham Barbarians conceded the first round tie.
The Barbarians had recently lost to Uttoxeter’s second XV and pulled out when they were drawn with the Town’s top side.
Uttoxeter are back in Midlands Four West (North) action on Saturday when they host Telford Hornets, kick-off 3pm.
The Shropshire side have had an indifferent start to the season with a draw and a defeat from two league matches, while Uttoxeter sit atop the table with two wins.
Despite this, Telford are expected to be one of the stronger sides in the division and should be pushing for promotion come the end of the season.
UTTOXETER 2nd XV went down 16-5 in a dull encounter at home to Leek 3rd XV in their first outing of the season.
Leek were 9-0 up at half-time after converting three penalties and there was no way back for the Town second string.
Uttoxeter came out fighting in the second half, though, and centre James Williams broke through the midfield and offloaded to Tom Sherrat, who popped out of a tackle and veteran Chris Owen was on hand to run the final 10 yards and touch down in the far corner for an unconverted try to close the gap.
Despite Uttoxeter being camped in Leek’s half for much of the 2nd half, the visitors finished the game with about five minutes to go when their inside centre cut back inside and a series of missed tackles from Uttoxeter allowed him to touch down for a converted try.
The Town can take some cheer from the game, though, as several of young colts put in encouraging performances.
Back row James Henry continued to press Leek hard until the end in a attempt to salvage something for his side.
Lawrence Paull, Andy Haigh, Jamie Hulme and Jack Delf are all teenagers who featured for Uttoxeter and show the club has a thriving youth set-up.
