Sat 23 Nov 2019, 14:15
Claverdon welcomed long rivals Harbury in-front of a 100+ Vice Presidents crowd.
Before the game kicked off a minutes silence was held for Roy Gardner a long serving member of Claverdon.
Claverdon kicked off playing up the hill, knowing they would be in for a hard half. Harbury set their initial platform however the Lions defence stood strong to keep them in the top half of the pitch. With a wet and muddy ball the match saw a high number of scrums. With the first scrum going to Harbury Claverdon front row Chris Glover, Steve Grimsley and Tom Hudson applies the pressure and in return won the penalty.
The resulting penalty was kicked into the corner, Grimsley finding Ben Webster it was Claverdons turn to set their platform. After a strong drive and several picks around the ruck it was Ed Smith who found himself burying his was over the line. 7-0
Instructions from the captain to the lions from the restart were to tidy up and clear out of their half. In doing so the chase from the kick was textbook and Claverdon were able to turn the ball over centre field. Hard running from Nick Green put the lions on the front foot. Quick thinking from Jack Johnson saw the scrum half break blind. A pop to James Barton put the number 8 on the canter. With a simple pass to James Gibney a try was on the cards. However the pass was deemed forward and the lions were brought back for a scrum.
After more defensive pressure Claverdon once again found themselves in the Harbury half due to another penalty kicked into the corner. Grimsley finding Barton at the top of the line out they trundled on. Just like the first try several picks finally so Hudson carry 2 defenders over the line to bag the lions second. 14-0
From the restart Clav kept ball in hand and it was Sam Turrell who found himself burning down the wing after beating his opposite man. Cutting inside a simple offload to Barton soon saw Clav in the Harbury 22. Carries through the middle from Glover and Ben Webster pushed the defence back. Matt Dunster was close to crashing over following a cutting line however was stopped just short. The forwards fancied a go but after several phases and good defence from Harbury they forced a knock on. Harbury scrum 10m out. With a dominant scrum Clav clawed the ball back, against the head Barton picked blind, drawing the winger a simple offload found Johnson who showed pace to finish in the corner 19-0
Now in search of the bonus point before the half the lions took control once again. This time Tom Johnson cut through the defence, with support from his wingers Turrell and Gibney good handling put Clav into the Harbury half with momentum. Quick clear ball allowed Tommy Williams to feed James Kirby on a crashing line up the centre of the field. The ball was then put through several hands and eventually found Smith for his second of the day. An excellent team try from the restart. 26-0
Half time 26-0
Clav had a good lead aft3 playing up hill but knew they had to continue the tempo and accuracy to allowed them to finish the game in style.
Harbury came flying out of the gates and for 30 minutes piled on the pressure. Their forwards carried hard and offloaded well. Unlike the first half Clav found them selves defending their try line on several occasion. However solid defence across the team kept out the 30 minute wave Harbury sent.
With fresh legs of Alex Haynes and Adam Tanner the two forwards caused chaos carrying hard around the park. The Lions 5th try came from another cutting line from Dunster putting Clav just outside the Harbury 22. With no full back insight Williams called for the box from Johnson. With a perfect bounce the ball fell into his arms and he finished off diving over the line. 33-0
With less 5e 5 minutes on the clock Captain Barton was red at least one more try. Continued solid defence from Kirby and Colin Marklew allowed the lions to turn ball over. Spread the ball through the hands and switching from side to side Claverdon were on the front foot. A bit of white line reaver set in with everyone wanting to score. Forward play saw Tanner crashing up, then Kirby, then Hudson. The attack came to an end following a debatable kick on from Johnson as he crossed the line. Scrum Harbury 5m out. Marklew and Hudson put their all in to the final scrum which they turned over, coming to a pause 2m out. Barton picked and popped to Johnson who faded wide, a simple switch with Williams saw him through a big gap in the defence. 40-0
Following the conversion the whistle blew to which Lizs VPs erupted. A fantastic win and performance for the Presidents first game in charge. Thanks go to Harbury for another exciting game that saw the two teams go at it for 80 minutes, putting on a show for the crowd.
