BRAD Sinclair scored a hat-trick of tries as Birmingham and Solihull Bees battled to a bonus point 34-23 win at Uttoxeter.
Sinclair crossed for a treble while PJ Hatch touched down twice at Springfield Road as the Bees defied an ever-growing injury list to claim the points.
And the result means Solihull sit fifth in the Counties 2 Midlands West (East) table.
The Bees were forced into a number of positional changes as captain Joe Davies switched from hooker to centre, James Bowater from front to second row and Sinclair moved to full back.
There was also a place for the returning Luke Attwell who had not played since 2021 after rupturing his ACL in a cup game against Brackley RFC.
The Bees made the perfect start when Sinclair crossed for the game’s opening try on three minutes with Lewis Edwards adding the conversion.
However, Uttoxeter responded with a try of their own out wide from the restart before Edwards missed a penalty and the home side scored a converted try to turn the game on its head.
Solihull drew level soon after in a breathless start to the match as Hatch finished off a fine move by the forwards with Edwards unable to add the extras.
The Bees then lost Stephen Johnson to the sin bin as Uttoxeter scored two penalties to reclaim the lead before Hatch crossed for his second try of the game and Edwards converted to close the gap to a single point at the break.
And Solihull edged ahead on the scoreboard early in the second period when Edwards kicked a penalty after great work from forwards Bowater and Liam Dunne.
A second try for Sinclair saw the Bees secure a bonus point, with the try scorer back at centre after captain Davies left the ground on crutches to add to Solihull’s growing injury list.
Soon after, the large travelling contingent of Bees supporters loudly greeted Attwell’s return to action after 884 days on the sidelines.
And the visitors sealed the points when Sinclair completed his hat-trick just past the hour mark with Edwards kicking the conversion before Uttoxeter scored the game’s final try on 79 minutes.
Birmingham and Solihull are next in action at home to Southam on Saturday, March 23 with kick-off at 3pm at Portway.
