Ledbury were the masters of their own undoing as Malvern claimed the inaugural Wye Valley Cup with a 12-8 victory in a tightly contested clash.

The two sides met for the first time in Regional 2 Midlands West League action at the Clubhouse Spring Lane since Ledbury's introduction in 1986.

The contest saw the visitors start strong, opting to run the ball at every opportunity.

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However, their promising start was put on hold when fly-half Jack Hughes was forced off with a shoulder injury after only five minutes.

Malvern took advantage of the early disruption to score the game's first try through Ben Gaubert, breaking the line of defence before Lewis Hardiman added the extras to put the hosts 7-0 up.

Despite going down to 14 men following a yellow card for Tom Roberts, Ledbury defended well and reduced the deficit to 7-3 with a penalty from Iolo Bubb.

Malvern were also reduced to 14 men shortly after, allowing Ledbury to take a narrow 8-7 lead as the ball was swung wide to get Lewis Turner over in the corner.

However, despite dominating possession and the scrum in the second half, Ledbury failed to extend their lead.

Malvern weathered 10 minutes of pressure before Ollie Hale scored their second try in their only foray into the visitor's half after the interval, darting into the corner.

Ledbury kept their foot on the gas, but Malvern's resolute defence held firm, leaving the visitors to rue missed opportunities as the minutes ran out.

This defeat leaves Ledbury facing a tough challenge to stay in the league.

A club spokesperson said: "This was a match that Ledbury should have won and all of the bitterly disappointed players knew just that.

"Full credit though to the pack who completely dominated Malvern at the set piece."

They added: "Based on the run of play in the second half, Ledbury’s tactics undoubtedly contributed to their own undoing… arguably more a case of Ledbury contrived to lose it rather than Malvern win it."

Ledbury now look ahead to a tough home game against Old Halesonians on Saturday (December 7).