Sat 4 Mar 2023
Match report by Hilton Garner-Jones
Saturday afternoon saw Claverdon’s 1st XV travel away to Coventry side, Old Wheatleyans in the hope of righting their wrongs from the reverse fixture - a narrow 13-17 loss.
The match kicked off, and it wasn’t long before Wheats asserted their dominance. A missed tackle in the Claverdon 22 saw the home side run a try in under the posts to see an early 7-0 lead develop. Claverdon’s luck worsened. A spilt ball in a dangerous area saw Wheats regain possession. Working through the phases, the home side patiently waited for the right opportunity to send their centre on a devastating crash ball, only to score under the posts again. Claverdon, now 14-0 down after 10 minutes, had to dig deep to stay in the game.
A failed clearance kick from the Old Wheats fly-half saw Claverdon winger, Hilton Garner-Jones take the ball back into the opposition half. A crash ball from George Redwood allowed Claverdon to recycle quickly, only for Garner-Jones to put an inviting kick through the defensive line. A foot race then ensued between the Old Wheats fullback and Claverdon’s speedsters. Winger Laurent Lightfoot showed great determination to get on the end of the kick, and Claverdon took their first points of the day. A conversion by fly-half, James Williams saw Claverdon come within 7 points of the hosts. Keen to apply further pressure, the Lions continued to show positive carries in the opposition half with Charlie Wakelam and Jordan Edwards setting the standard. Another clever kick from Williams saw Garner-Jones’ opposite man fumble the ball, allowing him to collect it and score. Williams added the 2 points to take the scores level.
George Hazard, following a Claverdon penalty close to the opposition line, bulldozed his way through to take the Lions into the lead for the first time in the game. Celebrations were short lived however. Two Old Wheats tries in quick succession took the score to 24-21 going into half time. The second half proved to be challenging for Claverdon. A yellow card for compound infringements saw the Lions go down to 14-men. Wheats took advantage of this and extended their lead. An impressive performance from both sides, with the game ending 31-21 in favour of the home side. Claverdon, with two games left in the season, host Pinley on Saturday.
