Sat 19 Oct 2024
Claverdon hosted Coalville at home for the first of their Vice Presidents days. Claverdon were coming off the back of a good win against Bee’s and knew that they needed a similar result here too. The possession from the start was all in Claverdon’s favour, which was helped by strong carries from Alistair Norman, Thomas Bicknell and James Lewitt, along with champagne footwork and offloads by Ben Brown. However, a slip in concentration allowed Coalville to win possession back, play simple backs move to break the Claverdon line, and score in the corner. The conversion successful, score now 0-7. Claverdon fought hard after the restart and gained a penalty on the Coalville 22m for a cynical foul at the breakdown. Claverdon opted for the posts, which Thomas Phillips kicked successfully. The score now 3-7. Like the previous restart, but the other way around, Claverdon gave Coalville a penalty just after the restart, which they also opted to kick. With that kick also successful, the score was now 3-10.
William Grant started the restart with a huge defensive tackle, which ultimately led to a Coalville player visiting the sinbin. Despite this, the Coalville defence was solid, and their scrum was causing problems for Claverdon’s set piece. Claverdon eventually received a penalty just in front of the half-way, which Thomas Phillips kicked successfully, bringing the score to 6-10. This concluded the half, with the score remaining 6-10.
Claverdon re-grouped and knew that they had work to do now to come from behind to make this a VPs to remember. Similarly to the start of the first half, all the possession was Claverdon’s, who gained a penalty on the half-way, and decided to kick for the line-out. With possession retained from a well-drilled line-out move, the backs completed numerous phases of plays until it came down to multiple pick-and-go’s from the forwards. John Grey was to open our scoring by dotting down in the corner. The kick was missed, meaning the score was now 11-10. After the restart, Coalville were camped in Claverdon’s 22m, however, the Claverdon heart was on the line and the defence didn’t break once. Huge hits from James Barton and Charlie Wakelam pushed Coalville back until they knocked on the ball giving Claverdon possession. This allowed Claverdon to clear their lines. After a few phases of play, Claverdon found themselves with a line-out on the Coalville 22m. Another well-drilled lineout move set up a maul for which Claverdon walked Coalville back to their 5m. Again, in similar fashion to Claverdon’s first try, multiple pick-and-go’s led to Alistair Norman dotting down in the same corner. Thomas Phillips added the extras to make the score 18-10.
Shortly after the restart Claverdon gave away a penalty just inside their own 22m, for which Coalville missed the kick, but allowed Claverdon to keep the ball in play. Numerous well-placed kicks from James Williams walked Coalville back up to their 5m, where Claverdon were awarded a line-out. The line-out move completed successfully, which again moved into a maul, allowing Claverdon to walk up to the line, and release Jack Wyatt to score in the corner. Thomas Phillips again successfully kicked the conversion, making the score now 25-10. The Coalville restart was kicked out on the full, then Claverdon gained a penalty kick on the halfway for an infringement at the scrum-restart. Claverdon opted to kick for goal, however, this attempt was unsuccessful. After the 22m drop-out, James Williams returned the ball with interest, gaining a 50-22 on the Coalville 5m line. The line-out retained Claverdon the ball, and after using the width of the pitch numerous times, Michael O’Donnell finally scored in the corner. The kick was unsuccessful, meaning the score was 30-10. In the last remaining minutes, Coalville stayed strong and got a final score in the corner. The kick was missed, making the score 30-15.
Final score for the day was 30-15. Everyone would like to thank all the VP’s and spectators for supporting Claverdon, and finally would like to wish Jacob Line a speedy recovery after a terrible head injury during the game.
Next week Claverdon travel to Stoke Old Boys where they’re looking to continue their run of success. Kick-off will be 3:00pm.
Report by James Kirby
