Sat 6 Jan 2024
In the first fixture of the calendar year, Claverdon hosted title contenders, Veseyans, on Saturday afternoon. Despite the heavy rain in the week building up to the match, the pitch was deemed playable. Veseyans started with signs of real intent. An early penalty resulting in a kick to the corner allowed the Sutton Coldfield side to maul their way over the line to take the lead. Veseyans followed this effort up with a string of powerful runs and clever offloads to score yet again taking the score to 12-0 after ten minutes. Claverdon, determined not to let their heads drop so early in the match, bounced back well. A line break from centre, Sam Turrell saw the Lions stride 40 metres up the pitch only for a last ditch tackle to be made. Tenacious running from backrower, Charlie Wakelam allowed Turrell to pop to ball up to the supporting player, who dotted over the line to score. Turrell then converted to bring the deficit to just 5 points. The following 10 minutes saw possession shared between both teams in what were boggy conditions. Seemingly out of nowhere, a Claverdon attack saw the ball make its way out wide, with Ali Norman and Calvin Lynch linking up to put winger, Hilton Garner-Jones in for his 10th try of the season. The conversion from Turrell placed Claverdon in the lead. Veseyans appeared to be rattled by the momentum the home side were carrying. Some questionable tactics were employed by the away side that questioned the spirit of the game, but were ultimately picked up by the referee who awarded Claverdon a penalty. Turrell obliged and extended his 100% kicking accuracy to gain 3 additional points for his team. However, towards the end of the first half, a breakaway try from Veseyans saw their winger dot down, and convert notching them 2 points ahead of Claverdon at halftime.
The second half had all the prospects to be as contentious and thrilling as the first. However, depending on your allegiance, it was only enjoyable for one team. The away side showed why they were title challengers coming into the fixture. Determined not to drop points in their campaign, Veseyans added 3 more tries to the scoresheet and kept Claverdon to nil over the second half. A true match of two halves, and Claverdon well-beaten in the end, it all ended 17 - 36 to Veseyans. Claverdon now look ahead to their next fixture on Saturday away to league leaders, Barkers Butts.
By Hilton Garner-Jones
