RUGBY St Andrews put on a spirited display in their 51-30 defeat to Midlands Two West (South) leaders Kidderminster.
Saints started brightly and worked through the phases before drawing a penalty which was kicked by Will Morgan after two minutes to give his side the lead.
The lead, though, lasted less than two minutes as Kidderminster recycled possession quickly and moved the ball well, with strong running causing the defense problems to cross for the first try of the afternoon.
This was quickly followed by a second unconverted try as Kidderminster showed why they are top of the league at this early stage in the season.
Saints did manage to stem the tide and worked well in possession, being patient and keeping hold of the ball well, they built pressure and were rewarded with second penalty from the boot of Ryan Taylor after 12 minutes to reduce the deficit.
Kidderminster responded with a converted try before Saints crossed the line for the first time after 28 minutes, with Dan Hull claiming the try converted by Will Morgan who added a second penalty five minutes later to bring Saints back to within a point.
Kidderminster, though, still had time to cross for their fourth try before half-time to claim a bonus point and take a 22-16 lead into the break.
This was quickly extended within 90 seconds of the restart as the Saints defense was split open with a strong direct run from the Kidderminster centre.
Saints began to build momentum and recycled the ball well, keeping Kidderminster under pressure and forcing them to concede penalties in their own 22.
Several kickable penalties were turned down as Saints opted to kick to the corner, but their efforts were thwarted.
The referee finally lost patience with the visitors who seemed to give away a penalty every time Saints ventured towards their line and issued a yellow card.
Rather than hamper Kidderminster, this seemed to galvanize them as they again repelled Saints attacks and then broke free to score a try of their own which was followed quickly by another to give them a commanding lead.
Saints hit back as the pack secured good line-out possession and drove Dan Hull over for a try converted by Morgan with ten minutes remaining.
Another strong run through the midfield from the visitors was rewarded with another converted try but again Saints hit back and camped on the Kidderminster line.
Another line-out drive resulted in a third try for Saints, again converted by Morgan.
With just a couple of minutes remaining Saints pushed for a fourth try and a bonus point but poor discipline allowed Kidderminster to work up field and with six minutes injury time being played, they crossed for a final try.
Saints make the trip to Leamington on Saturday.
