OLD Halesonians suffered successive defeats for the first time this season after being shutout by Whitchurch.

Hales lost 22-0 at Wassell Grove after failing to find a way through against their visitors who also leapfrogged them into fourth place in Midlands One West.

The last time Whitchurch played Old Hales it was in the final of the North Mids Cup where Hales ran away with a 50-plus points haul.

Last weekend only two players from that squad were playing as the hosts fielded 13 homegrown players after a solid start to the new campaign.

Whitchurch placed their marker down early with dominance at both scrum and lineout and took away any platform to launch an attack.

Old Hales played with the conditions first half and applied good pressure, but lacked the killer blow to come away with points.

Whitchurch deserved their win and left with a 22-0 victory.

Head coach Matt Williams said: "It was a very frustrating game where the better side won.

"We have lots to work on, as this weekend we play Bromsgrove, a team that are going to finish in the top two and will pose a huge challenge for us.

"It’s a local derby game and they are always set to be fun and the pressure is on them. We are looking to make sure we don’t get relegated this year and they are looking to win the league so for us we have nothing to lose and all to play for."

Bromsgrove visit on Saturday (3pm kick-off) on the back of losing to top of the table Newbold last weekend.