LICHFIELD came out on top at Walsall in a game littered with yellow cards.

There were six in total with both sides reduced to 13 players at one point, with limited spells in the game with a full line-up on the field. It was not a fiery local derby, but the two teams could not meet the precise requirements the official.

However, there were plenty of points with 12 tries scored, including eight for the visitors in a 55-29 victory.

The game did not start well for Walsall. On receiving the kick off, their first clearance was charged down and the ball ended in touch. Lichfield drove the lineout and Ditch Burton dropped over the line for the first try within 90 seconds. Kai Lucas-Dumolo added the first of six conversions.

The first yellow came after a high tackle on Lucas-Dumolo – and there were then two more for Walsall in the next dozen minutes, one for a tackle on a supporting player without the ball and another high tackle.

Despite all of this, it was the home side who scored next. They went through a series of breakdowns with speedy recycling before hooker Tom Aston crashed over from short range with Ben Pitt converting.

But that was as good as it got for Walsall. The lineout, quite often driven with effect, was a real weapon for Lichfield and a front peel five metres out produced a converted try for the captain Kieran Reynolds.

Walsall responded with a penalty from Pitt from virtually halfway, but the game was effectively won in the last ten minutes of the half with a try apiece from Ollie Green and Charlie Milner to make it 26-10 at the turnaround.

Try number five came soon after the restart when Lucas-Dumolo intercepted a Walsall pass and the ball was stabbed through for Sam Benson to win the foot race to the try line.

The hosts started to try to mount counter attacks from deep, with Lichfield’s game management forcing them back into their 22. More often than not though, the troops were not on hand to succeed and they coughed up possession on their own line to gift a try to Kieran Higgins.

The scoreline went out to 45-10 when the visitors tapped a penalty in their own half and the kick ahead found no one at home. Seb Smith fed Paul Maxwell-Keys for the easiest of scores.

It was then Lichfield’s turn to find yellow cards being brandished in their direction – as a result, the next three tries went the home side’s way. Callum Hoy stretched over the line from a close range scrum, and this was followed by a breakaway for Adam Nunney. Some good support play produced a walk in for Simon Weaver. Nunney and Pitt kicked the extras to the latter two.

But the Myrtle Greens had the last say when a penalty in front of the sticks was calmly kicked by Lucas-Dumolo and then Milner grabbed his second score after good work from Maxwell-Keys.

Elsewhere, Lichfield’s seconds produced an assured all round performance to beat Nuneaton 68-12 at Cooke Fields.

Over 40 points were racked up before half time by the home side, so the second period lacked some of the drive seen in the opening 40 minutes.

Nevertheless, there were some good tries scored, three of which came from inch perfect kick passes by Chad Southam, while Calum Hagyard’s interception a metre out was also a feature of goal hanging at its best.