MALVERN RFC suffered their second successive Midlands Two West defeat on Saturday against visiting Newport and David Robins, Malvern's director of rugby, was understandably perplexed after the game.

He said: "We came back well after last week and were looking good until Anderson was injured, but his loss meant a bit less power in the set pieces and mauls as well as losing his ball carrying skills.

"Newport has lots of dog and seized their opportunities, but when we lost Lambert and Wilkinson it compounded our problems. Liam Maloney, Richard Fleming and Steve Cooper all played their part from the bench, but as the game wore on they wore us down.

"From a fairly healthy position in terms of playing strength the last two games have cost us six players to add to those already on the list.

"We have now played two of the top sides and it looks as though there are four contenders at the top - we need to make sure that we secure results against the others in the chasing pack.

"It's a long season, with 18 matches still to go, and we are in it for the long haul. We still have an excellent spirit in the squad and, given a bit of extra fitness, can turn over most sides."