Walsall Colts were hit by a mixture of injuries and absences this weekend, fielding only 14 players, but this still proved enough to beat a spirited Dudley Kingswinford side.

Walsall played with the strong wind in the first half and quickly opened their account with Alex Hawthorn crossing for a try after just 3 minutes. Two further tries apiece from both Hawthorn and Max Hughes combined with scores from Matt Craddock, Charlie Wrighton to give Walsall a comfortable lead at half time. The wind meant the kickers were going to be hard pushed and Ben Tipson only managed to slot two of the conversion on offer.

What should have been plain sailing in the second half turned out to be hard work for the home side as Dudley mounted a mini revival, using the strong wind and some weak Walsall defence to their advantage. The half initially began as the first had finished as Ryan Dolan and Ben Nodwell added to the Walsall lead. Dudley replied with 17 unanswered points as Walsall let their concentration slip. It took tries from Joe Blacker and captain Hughes to re-assert the Walsall control and the home side eventually ran our 59-31 winners.

Walsall have a short break until February 12th when the resume league action against current leaders Wolverhampton.