Sat 7 Sep 2024, 15:00
Claverdon made the short trip over to Earlsdon for the first fixture in what will be a huge 60th celebration season ahead. It was a typical British day, dull and damp, but this didn’t phase the team who were all excited to be back together again.
Understandably it was a slightly shaky start from both sides, however, huge hits and carries from debutant Ben Brown steadied Claverdon who continued to make good progress into the opponents half.
Although our set pieces were working well, a few mistakes allowed Earlsdon back into it, from which they gained a penalty just outside our 22, which was successfully kicked, 3-0.
Shortly after the restart, George Redwood made a key turnover on the opponents 22 which James Barton took quickly to put Claverdon on the front foot. Quick hands allowed another debutant, Thomas Bates, to break through the line for what could have been our first score, however it was called back for a forward pass.
After a slight interlude of kicking, Claverdon again found themselves camped on the opponents Some solid scrumming from all involved, and a perfectly executed backs move, allowed George Redwood to tear the Earlsdon defense apart and run in Claverdon’s first try. James Williams kicked for the additional points, making the score 3-7.
After the restart, a mistake was made by Claverdon, giving Earlsdon another penalty just outside our 22. This was also successfully kicked, 6-7. Claverdon concluded the first half with a strong defensive set, which denied Earlsdon’s first try by being held up over the line. Score at half time remained 6-7.
After the second half started, a mistake from Earlsdon gave Claverdon a penalty within their half, which allowed James Williams to kick for a line-out just outside the opponents 5m. A strong set-piece line out led to a barrage of pick-and-go’s which ultimately gave Claverdon another penalty. Michael Jay quickly took this and strong carries from Aliastar Norman and Chris Glover got Claverdon over the try line, but it was only to be knocked-on at the crucial time.
The goal-line drop out landed in the hands of Calvin Lynch, who returned it with interest to gain us a 50-22 back on the 5m. With the line-out completed, a deliberate knock-on saw Earlsdon down to 14 men, however, a strong defense from the opponents didn’t allow Claverdon through.
Some unbelievable footwork from Calvin Lynch, and strong carries from Ben Brown and James Barton took Claverdon back to the opponents 5m, however an Earlsdon player coming from an offside position kicked the ball away costing them another player to the sin-bin, bring them down to 13 men.
Claverdon knew that it was crucial to come away with points at this stage, particularly as the penalty was on the opponents 5m. A tap penalty from Alistair Norman allowed Michael Jay to quickly pass the ball out to James Williams who went through to score. He also converted the kick to bring the score to 6-14.
Earlsdon came back fighting from the kick-off and it wasn’t long before they walked back a scrum on Claverdon’s 5m to score their first try. The kick was also converted to make the score 13-14.
The remaining 10 minutes saw a huge Claverdon defensive effort to deny Earlsdon from getting past our 5m. This closed off the game with the final score remaining 13-14, and a huge win for Claverdon.
We’d like to thank all the supporters who came to watch us, it’s incredible to see such a large group for an away game.
We now look forward to next week's fixture which is Southam at home, kick-off at 3pm.
Report by James Kirby
