Sat 6 Apr 2024
Claverdon RFC travelled away to Coventry Welsh in their final league fixture of the season on Saturday afternoon. While Coventry Welsh sat comfortably in 4th, Claverdon had an opportunity to finish 5th following a win. Claverdon started the match with real intent and weren’t deterred by the strong winds when passing out wide. However, it was Coventry Welsh that took the first points of the day, following a break in the middle of the pitch. The first blow appeared to knock the away side significantly, and while their heads were dropped, the home side secured a further 3 tries. Claverdon needed a try to be in with a chance of competing and centre, Sam Turrell took it upon himself to ensure they remained in the fight. A broken tackle on the Coventry 22-metre line allowed Turrell to stride under the posts and take the extra 2 points from the simple conversion.
The second half, unfortunately for Claverdon, followed a similar pattern to the first. Coventry came out strong from the break, and on two occasions, scored directly from a restart. Claverdon’s poor defensive performance, which has been uncharacteristic of them this season, was much to blame. Flanker, Tom Bicknell did keep the try bonus possibility alive with an excellent 50 metre run. Despite Coventry tracking back and hunting him down, Bicknell dived over the line for nothing more than a consolation try. The match finished 55-14 to Coventry Welsh - certainly not the ending to the season that Claverdon would have wanted, but still, a solid mid-table finish for the side that were promoted two seasons ago. Claverdon now go into their Summer break ahead of their 60th Anniversary season!
By Hilton Garner-Jones
