BIRMINGHAM and Solihull Bees returned to winning ways with a 29-15 bonus point victory away at local rivals Woodrush.
Deaglan O’Brien crossed twice for the Bees with captain Cole Elleman and Calum Antonio also touching down at Icknield Street.
And the result means Solihull sit fifth in the Counties 2 Midlands West (East) table.
The game began at a frantic pace before the Bees launched a devastating attack, spreading the ball through the backs at pace, as O’Brien dotted down on three minutes and Lewis Edwards added the extras.
After an off the ball scuffle, both teams lost a player to the sin bin before Solihull extended their lead when Edwards kicked a penalty following sustained pressure on the Woodrush line.
However, the Bees lost Edwards to what appeared to be a shoulder injury before the half-hour mark while forward Ryan Sleaford succumbed to a hip injury.
Woodrush responded with a penalty of their own before the break as Solihull went into half time with a seven-point lead.
The Bees defended well at the start of the second period with Woodrush camped on the Solihull 22 before the visitors turned the ball over and O’Brien crossed for his second try of the game.
Another injury to Adam Boot forced the Bees to play a number of players out of position while Jack Allen’s yellow card allowed Woodrush to cut the deficit with their first try of the match.
And Woodrush put the Bees under pressure straight from the restart, scoring their second try soon after to level the game.
Back to a full complement of players, Solihull captain Elleman touched down and Oli Nesbitt kicked the extras as Woodrush began to tire.
Woodrush threw everything at the Bees in the final few minutes before Adam Trombley stole the ball which allowed Cormach Papirnik to break up the pitch with several players in support.
And the ball eventually made its way to Antonio who scored the Bees bonus point try on 79 minutes with Nesbitt successfully adding the conversion.
