11th April 2026 – Leamington v Kidderminster

As the 2025/26 season draws to a close, for once, Leamington skipper, Joe Kinghorn, was able to see the full potential of his squad, as they trounced a poor, albeit, determined Kidderminster side, by 94 points to 26.

The try scoring heroes for Leamington were Jim Reed (5), Rich McKowen (4), John Brear (2) and one apiece from Ethan Roberts, Tom van der Hoven and Jack Tripp-Smith. Jack Tripp-Smith added 9 conversions and Tom van der Hoven completed matters with 3 conversions.

Kidderminster felt the full force of the Leamington attack within the opening seconds of the match; a clever break from fly-half, Chris John sliced open the visitors, Gareth Shuttleworth carried the move on before unleashing Rich McKowen for the killer punch. Jack Tripp-Smith added the conversion.

On around 7 minutes of play, Leamington won a lineout in their half, Chris John once again set his backline away with neat, cross field pass to Tripp-Smith who, for the first time of the afternoon, brought winger, Jim Reed into the fray. Still with plenty of ground to cover, the powerful running of Reed tore through the Kidderminster defence ending with another try, duly converted by Tripp-Smith.

Reed swiftly added 2 more well-engineered tries before McKowen rejoined the scoring, with a sublime try, which he conjured up himself, ghosting through a bewildered Kidderminster defence.

The Leamington backs, in particular Reed and McKowen, were impossible to handle on the day and were showcasing their undoubted footballing talent. They were receiving full support from the forwards, who were providing good quality possession. Powerful running from Dunbavin and Brear was a constant threat, and in the set-piece, props, Jimmy Crief and Sam Richards were giving the side a solid platform to work from.

Although Kidderminster were able to dent the progress of the home attack with a couple of scores, Leamington finished the half on high tempo with a decisive run from winger, Ethan Roberts who was halted inches short of the try line. He was, however, able to get a pass away to Shuttleworth who fed the ball to No8, John Brear who charged over for try number six, converted by Tripp-Smith.

Half Time: Leamington 42 – Kidderminster 12

The interval did nothing to detract Leamington from further progress as they quickly added to the scoresheet. Chris John took a quick penalty to skipper Joe Kinghorn who broke clear before setting McKowen off on a run towards the nearside wing. Jack Tripp-Smith took McKowen’s pass, at pace, and raced through for a fine individual try, which he duly converted.

In the blink of an eye, McKowen added to his tally with another try, Kidderminster responded with a try of their own before once again falling to McKowen’s skill and try number nine for the hosts.

Jim Reed, who had been an unstoppable force in attack all afternoon, had to show his versatility as both he and Ben Keeshan pulled off try-saving tackles to keep Kidderminster restricted. Although soon after, Reed was once again back to attacking duty, running from his own 22 metre area to the opposing one, and setting Tom van der Hoven up for try number 10!

Leamington continued to press hard and from some smart handling from Sam Russell on the nearside flank, Kinghorn and Brear linked near the half way line, with the latter breaking away, at pace, towards the visitors try line. Although Kidderminster were able to react to the danger, with two defenders looking to head off Brear’s run, the powerful No8 brushed their attempts to one side, as he thundered through under the posts.

A quickly taken penalty to Reed brought another try and then the winger was once again called upon, as his forwards won a scrum and fed him the ball near the halfway line. There was only one likely outcome at this stage, and Reed did not disappoint as he gather pace to outstrip any takers for his fifth try of the afternoon.

Leamington winger, Ethan Roberts, brought matters to a conclusion, as he finished off another spellbinding run from McKowen, with a well-earned try.

Full Time: Leamington 94 – Kidderminster 26

Words by Warner
Pictures by Pinfold