1st Team Match Reports
Saturday 12th April Claverdon 3 - Chaddesley Corbett 13
On Saturday the weather changed from rain, to sun, to rain which pretty
much summed up Claverdon's Season.
Claverdon's last game of the season was against Chaddesley Corbett who after
playing some very close games over the last 2 season has built up a friendly
rivalry.
Claverdon started off the aggressors and dominated the first 20 mins. Strong running from the base of the scrum from Claverdon's number 8 Martin Johnson gave Claverdon a platform to start attacking. Which lead to Claverdon to score first, a penalty within kicking distance! The Claverdon captain Wiggy stepped up and duly kicked over from about 30 yards out. Chaddesley Corbett hit back straight away with their own penalty, they where only 10 metres out when they chose to kick the points, a true testament to Claverdon's defence. Strong tackling in the centre of the pitch due to Luke Busby, Tom Johnson and Claverdon's backrow of Martin Johnson, Olly Thorndale and Matt Joyce.
Claverdon looked to establish the lead when they took their eye off the ball and missed a few important tackles which led to the Chaddesley winger putting the ball under the post, they converted. Claverdon had the chance to close the gap after strong running from Chris Edsall and Sam Horswall which lead to another Claverdon penalty which was missed.
3 - 10 Half Time
Second half started like the first with Claverdon coming out the box the fast and had most of the possession. Chaddesley kicked most of the 2nd half but it was cleverly cleaned up by Gunner Grimsley and Dave Ward but special mention goes to Richard Gray who caught everything. Claverdon weren't able to break the Chaddesley defence and in the end Claverdon gave way too many penalties and Chaddesley put them away. Claverdon's line-out was strong, Fraser Knight working well with David Carruthers who hit his man every time. Also the Claverdon scrum was solid and started to win the ball against the head.
Claverdon's season ended with a loss but it has gained everything from a season that was marred by injuries to key men in key positions.
Claverdon is only a small village but they shown this season even with the results going the wrong way have one of the best team spirits in the country, and if we can gain one or two players we could be challengers next season.
3 - 13 Final Score
More photos from Nigel
http://pigdon.sharpcastphotos.com/albums/image/52604_225932459661301
Saturday 5th April - Claverdon v Warwickians
Saturday 8th March - Claverdon 0 - Redditch 44
Saturday 2nd March - Highley 12 - Claverdon 13
LAST GASP PENALTY CLINCHES THRILLER
Claverdon travelled the 45 or so miles to fellow struggler's Highley on
Saturday and took the points thanks to a much improved performance and last
gasp converted penalty. With many regular forwards missing through injury
of illness Claverdon had travelled with a re-jigged pack that included the
veteran hooker Mark Antony and also saw the return from the 2nds of loose
head Paul Brannon. This allowed promising back row forward Matt Joyce a
rare run out at flanker, instead of having to play as a make shift prop.
After having to change at the local leisure centre, Claverdon then drove
back to the pitch for a a short warm up. Skipper Wyllie won the toss and
decided to play up the large slope in the first half and to try to keep
the game tight. Indeed the away side had much of the position in the first
twenty minutes, but a fine break from the Highley back row fed their number
12 who brilliantly stepped his opposite man to run in under the posts, the
easy conversion was slotted. Claverdon again got back into the game and
the Lions back row carried the ball aggressively and always made yards whilst
fly half Horswill made some nice breaks one of which saw him take a flat
pop from his scrum half and crash over the line only to be held up by some
dogged defending. Then again, whilst on top Claverdon missed a tackle down
the blind side and paid for it with a try this time the tricky conversion
was missed. Leaving the score 12 -0 at half time.
The Claverdon boys gathered at the break and the experienced number 8 Tony Jones fired some uplifting words to his team mates and with his rallying cry in their ears the Lions started the second half strongly. This half with the slope and wind in their favour Claverdon increased the pressure with Highley finding it impossible to clear their lines for long and indeed the entire second half was played in the home sides half. Though new to rugby having formed only two years previous Highley are very organised and have some very strong aggressive forwards. They managed to keep out the onslaught for fifteen or twenty minutes until a scrum from Claverdon led to quick ball to the backs and winger Gregg White having come inside on the crash from fly half Horswill powered over the line taking two defenders with him, Wyllie added the extra points. 10 - 7.
Claverdon continued to dominate and strong running from Paul Carruthers and Tony Jones as well as powerful rucking from Brannon and Joyce kept claverdon on the front foot, excellent breaks from Busby, Johnson and White all nearly secured the vital try the Lions were looking for but once again the home side defence stood strong. The pressure though told with just ten minutes left when Highley conceded a penalty at a ruck and Wyllie slotted over bringing them within a drop goal or penalty of victory. Again the away side powered on and tight head Carruthers popping up on the wing came within meters of touching down and the home crowd thought that was the last chance gone. But a knock-on in the line out by Claverdon bought a scrum to the home side over by the touch line. Then cometh the hour…. Veteran hooker Mantany took the ball against the head (his fourth of the match) and suddenly Claverdon sniffed the chance. But as skipper Wyllie stooped to get the ball at the back of the scrum his opposite number showing his inexperience came round too early and conceded the penalty, the ref told Claverdon that they had time for the penalty but it would be the final play. Up stepped Wyllie, have rightly taken stick a couple of weeks before and lined up the kick, he struck it well but at the last minute caught the strong wind and started to drift towards the far post, everyone went silent as they watched it strike the far upright before bouncing down onto the cross bar and drop over for the 3 points they needed to win.
Claverdon were elated and Highley heartbroken. The final score was 12-13.
I would like to thank Highly for their part in an excellent game and wish them luck for the rest of the season and in the years to come, they are a great bunch and welcome addition to the league. I'd also like to thank the three Claverdon subs who travelled all that way but did not get on; your support was appreciated by the rest of the players
Claverdon Team
Ward D, Grimsley, Johnson, Busby, White, Horswill, Wyllie, Jones, Glover,
Joyce, Carruthers P, Knight, Carruthers D, Antony, Brannon. Subs O'Flaraty,
Cameron, Allsopp
Scorers
White 1no. Try
Wyllie1no. conv. And 2no. Pens
Man of the Match
Paul Carruthers
Saturday 9th February - Claverdon 15 - Birmingham Civil Service 17
Second Half Curse Strikes Claverdon then England
After being beaten by a physical Warley side a week prior, Claverdon turned up to the Ossetts hole field of dreams for the second of a batch of three consecutive home games looking for a win against a Birmingham Civil Service side lying an impressive 3rd in the table. Claverdon had hoped to gain 6 points from the three games but with a late defeat last week Clav knew only a win would do with a close to full strength side out.
The first half started well for Claverdon as Civil Service found themselves with their backs to the wall defending their try line. A promising move saw Wiggy take the ball from the back of the ruck 10 metres from the Civil Service try line who drew his man and shipped out to Dave Carruthers who likewise drew his man and popped to Paul Carruthers on the shoulder who unsuccessfully tried to make an offload in the tackle.
The first scrum of the match saw Prop Matt Joyce (Nurse with a driving licence) injured as the scrum collapsed on his right shoulder. His namesake Warren came on as a replacement.
The next few scrums saw what can only be described as a front row fracas happening, with cries of nipple twisting, eye gouging and loose binding the referee had his work cut out but he dealt with the situation well. Once the front row fracas was over Claverdon dominated the scrums against a big Civil Service pack, this lead to the Civil Service pack to get irritable.
Civil Service managed to turn the ball over and with some strong kicking from the Civil Service 10 soon Claverdon were the team under pressure and a penalty was given against the home side midway into the Clav half. Claverdon committed too many players in to the ruck and Civil Service had an overlap of 4 players on 2 open. Civil Service got the first score of the match and converted.
Claverdon heads did not dip however and from the back of a solid scrum Wiggy went blind to winger Dan Mulleneiux who produce a wonderful/surprising/genius pass inside to Wardy (who must have ran ¾ of the length of the pitch) to score his first try for the first XV.
Wiggy converted.
Claverdon had gotten what they had deserved and did not look to be stopping, a forwards move lead to Matt Warren going over the try line and ground the ball just.
Wiggy did not convert.
With the professional kicking Clav have come to expect from fly half Peter Richards over the past few weeks, Claverdon piled the pressure on further and gained two penalty opportunities.
Wiggy Missed Penalty.
Wiggy Scored Penalty.
Half time: Claverdon 15 Civil Service 7
After last weeks’ second half collapse of England and Clav the half time team talk was focused on keeping up the pressure and keeping everyones’ head in the game for 80 minutes. ‘A wounded animal is at its most dangerous’ was in the talk and nothing was truer as Civil Service came out the blocks much stronger than the first half and this was the team which was lying 3rd in the table not the Civil Service of the first half.
Birmingham Civil Service kept going at Claverdon and resolute defending was needed by the Clav XV, After numerous penalties against Clav Civil Service took the points and score was 15 – 10.
With Clav getting frustrated at the lack of opportunities to get into the Civil Service half penalties were being awarded left right and centre and this was to prove very costly.
Big Tackles were being put in all over the park namely by Olly Thorndale going through his opposite number to put the player and ball safely into touch, Charlie Robbins and Pete Richards double tackle which would have been heard for miles around and Luke Busby nailing his opposite number slightly high in a tackle that can only be described as corkscrew-like although his opposite number would have known this was coming after some foul play on his part.
Despite all this it was not good enough for Clav to put anymore points on the board.
Fly Half Pete Richards was not getting enough protection from the Clav forwards in the line as the oppositions forwards kept breaking through, this lead to Pete having to perform an overhead kick with his weaker foot to put the ball into touch.
After a number of onslaughts from the large Civil Service pack their 26 stone Prop went over the line in the corner for Civil Service to get a score and then convert. Claverdon 15 – Civil Service 17.
The temperament of the game was at boiling point and people were struggling to keep their game heads on. A very late tackle was made on Wiggy,the Clav captain reacted to the tackle with half a minute of the game to go. Civil Service Player yellow carded. Paul Carruthers yellow carded.
The ref blew up in what was a frustrating game for Claverdon as this was the second loss in as many weeks by falling apart in the second half.
Next week sees Claverdon take on Bromyard at home who are currently joint 3rd in the league, the lads will be hungry for victory for VP’s day, Earlier in the season Claverdon won 13 – 16.
Thanks to everyone who turned up to support the lads, Will Barnes for the pictures, Ashley Hill for Coaching and Turkey for coming down and subbing.
Tries: Matt Warren x 1 Wardy x 1
Cons: Wiggy x 1
Pens. Wiggy x 1
Saturday 26th January - Bredon Star 24 - Claverdon 0
Claverdon arrived for the match on a high today after beating Bredon at Ossetts Hole Lane a few weeks back. The still very young team has just started to bond and the team spirit in the dressing room and in warm-up was a clear indication that Claverdon are starting to get back the spirit that has clearly been missing for a while.
Claverdon started the game with a long kick from Pete Richards. Bredon, after a good take, immediately switched on the aggression. They were quick to close down Claverdon and powered over the first ruck to keep possession. The Bredon back-row was extremely strong and slowly moved the ball toward the Claverdon try line. Claverdon's defence held strong however and although Bredon moved the ball well Claverdon withstood the constant attack with some big tackles by Olly Thorndale, Matt Warren and Paul Carruthers. After a 20 minute bombardment Bredon won a penalty and opted to kick for goal, it was easily converted and Bredon lead 3-0. Claverdon didn't let their heads drop however and after holding Bredon for so long, took the chance to go on the attack themselves. The pack moved the ball well and then Nealon shipped the ball out to the backs who got there chance to run. Pete released Johnson and Horsfall who's pace took Claverdon to the 5 metre line. The Clav forwards were quick to the breakdown and secured the ball well. Pete Richards then found himself in the pocket and Nealon passed the ball out to attempt a drop goal which unfortunately fell short.Bredon came back on the attack and ended up kicking to touch. The Claverdon line-out was drilled today and some strong jumping by Charlie Robbins saw Claverdon with ball in hand again and the forwards rucked and mauled their way toward the Bredon try line. Some good defence by Bredon forced a knock-on and Bredon won a scrum close to their 22. The scrum's had held well all day and the Clav forwards were very switched on. Bredon won the ball but Olly Thorndale pounced on the scrum-half as he picked the ball up and Claverdon turned the ball over. Nealon shipped the ball out and some quick hands saw an overlap appear and as Claverdon looked like they could take the lead Bredon intercepted the last pass and ran a try in from their own 22, this was converted with ease and Bredon lead 10-0. Clav, feeling a little hard done by after a great run of play then pulled together as a team and didn't let this effect their game and immediately shifted up a gear and attacked the Bredon line with a renewed passion. Some great ball carrying by Matt Warren and John Glover saw Claverdon edging nearer the try line. Clav used their speedy backs well, twice shipping the ball to opposite sides of the pitch until the forwards finished the move and crossed the try line, only to be held up by an exceptional defence. Just before half time and Claverdon's experienced scrum-half Nealon took a massive hit which saw hin unconscious for a few minutes and could no-longer play a part in the game. Wiggy came in at scrum-half, Dan Mullinueux shifted to full-back and Dave Austin came on to cover the wing.
Half Time
The Second half started with Bredon kicking deep into Claverdons half and the Clav forwards continuing where they left off, with strong ball carrying and good rucking and mauling. The Pack eased their way deep into the Bredon Half with constant pressure in the scrums and some strong line-out work, this was turning into a well-matched game. After a good 10 minutes of hard forwards work from both teams mid-pitch Claverdon made two changes, Matt Joyce replaced Matt Warren (exceptionally strong all game) and Chris Edsall came on for Paul Carruthers. Matt and Chris wasted no time in making an impact on the game and both got ball in hand and started making progress up field. Wiggy shipped the ball out to Pete and he immediately send the centres running, a good dummy switch and Johnson crashed through the Bredon line only to be stopped by the Bredons forwards. Pete was quick to react and shipped the ball quickly through the hands of the backs to Austy on the wing who looked glad to get ball in hand and used his strength and pace to break through 3 tackles and draw the Bredon Pack across. With the overlap created Claverdon shipped the ball wide and made great yards into the Bredon half only to be stopped just short of the line by some strong defence. A penalty here was quickly taken by Wiggy and he kicked a high ball to the wing for Austy to chase down. An awkward bounce saw Bredon only just manage to touch the ball down behind the line before Austy powered over in chase. Bredon then switched up a gear and some great hands and offloading by their back row saw them score a powerful try putting them further into the lead. A collision of heads saw Olly Thorndale off with a blood injury and the return of Matt Warren who immediately impressed with tackle after tackle. A pure mistake by Claverdon under extreme pressure saw Bredons third try which they again converted. Claverdon continued to play hard and not give up and again put pressure on the Bredon defence but unfortunately didn't manage to score.
Claverdon were very unfortunate not to get anything out of this game and they showed great strength to not let their heads drop against a team that was clearly well drilled. Considering Bredon were playing in the league above last season, only adds strength to the statement that Claverdon have exciting times ahead with a team that will take the club into what can only be a prosperous future.
Man Of Match: Matt Warren
Saturday 12th January - Claverdon 18 - Camp Hill 3rds/4ths 7
Claverdon too rugged for the Camp boys
Claverdon took a rest from league action this weekend and hosted a Camp
Hill 4th team. When they arrived however they let Claverdon know that it
was more like a 3rd team and the fact that they had a kitbag with Camp Hill
2nd XV on it then Clav knew they would be in for a tough game.
Having slipped up last week in the league it was of utmost importance for
Clav to get a win to boost their confidence going into a tricky fixture
next week at home to Warley. Claverdon welcomed back a few of the big guns
by way of Martin Johnson, Tony Jones and John Glover. Gregg White started
his first game in the 1sts and Steve 'Gunner' Grimsley kept his place in
the team after an impressive display last week in his first game back after
a long term injury. The backs again reshuffled with Dan Mullineux filling
in at full back.
Claverdon were in good spirits leading in to the game and looked up for
this encounter which was shown in an impressive warm up. With Wiggy still
injured and vice captain Luke Allsopp still recovering, the captaincy was
given to the big prop Dave Carruthers.
The first half started well for Claverdon with some aggressive running from
Gregg White, Charlie Robbins & Dave Carruthers and also some good cover
with John Glover filling in at full back on occasions. With some very good
kicks from Terence Snutch the Clav boys were soon deep in to Camp Hill territory.
It was from here that Tony Jones made a good break and the ball was shipped
out to Gregg White who seemed to have scored in the corner only for the
touch judge to have ruled that his foot was in touch. Unfortunately the
4th official was at the bar so was not consulted and the try was not given.
It certainly wasn't all way one traffic though and Camp Hill themselves
showed shades of good rugby with strong running and good ball work out of
the tackle. The Clav boys were more than a match though and thwarted any
attacks made by Camp Hill with some superb tackling noticeably from Tom
Johnson who had shifted inside this week to play at number 12. It was from
that very man Johnson that Claverdon put the first points on the board.
He used his lightning pace and jinky side step to beat his man and then
ship the ball out to Snutch who drew his man to feed Rob Horsfall to score
in the corner. The conversion unfortunately came back off the post. Claverdon
5-0.
Only minutes later, Claverdon scored their second try when scrum half Duncan
Nealon fed the ball out blind and powerful running from Gregg White saw
him shake off his tackler and cut inside to score next to the posts. This
time the conversion was kicked. Claverdon 12-0.
Claverdon were now in the ascendancy and were constantly in the Camp Hill
half. With the visitors giving away some cheap penalties and some poor discipline,
Claverdon furthered their lead with 2 good penalties from the boot of Snutch
just before the interval. Half time - Claverdon 18-0
The second half saw the Camp Hill side bring on a couple of pairs of fresh
legs as well as having their scrum half back after he had been sin binned
just before the break. With Claverdon now playing up the hill and the opposition
raising their game, the second half was played mainly in the Claverdon half.
Again, the Clav boys were more than a match for the challenge and some very
good tackling across the pitch left Camp Hill unable to break over the try
line. As in previous weeks where Claverdon have suffered in the second half
and conceded silly points, this was not to be the case in this encounter.
With Claverdon coping with everything the opposition could throw at them
they were able to rest the returning Martin Johnson & man of the match
Gregg White who were replaced by Paul Carruthers and Jean Visser for his
first game for Claverdon.
With Claverdon soaking up the pressure they were able to get the ball up
the field and from a scrum the ball was shipped out to Rob Horsfall and
but for an unlucky kick winger Gunner Grimsley might have been in for a
try.
Camp Hill came back stronger from this and with several phases of play and
some of the Claverdon boys in disarray they finally managed to get over
the white line for a try. The conversion was kicked. Claverdon 18-7.
The last 10 minutes were played mainly on the defensive again but strong
tackling from some of the forwards namely Fraser Knight, Matt Warren &
Chris Edsall saw the Camp Hill boys again unable to break the line. Full
time - Claverdon 18-7
Congratulations to the boys for an impressive victory against a very good
experienced Camp Hill side. A major part of this performance was the grit
and determination shown by Claverdon in the second half to keep out the
opposition when in previous weeks they may have folded. Credit must go to
the boys for their performance and the fact that around 12 or 13 first teamers
were down at training on Tuesday is not simply a coincidence.
Thanks to Will Barnes for the photos and all the supporters that came down
to cheer on the boys on Saturday.
As mentioned, Claverdon have a home game against Warley this Saturday so
please can all make it to training on Tuesday at Henley Sports Hall - 7pm
- 9pm.
Team
D Mullineux, S Grimsley, R Horsfall, T Johnson, G White, T Snutch, D Nealon,
M Johnson, T Jones, C Robbins, C Edsall, J Glover, F Knight, D Carruthers,
M Warren
Subs- P Carruthers, J Visser.
Scorers - Rob Horsfall, Gregg White
Con - T Snutch
Pens - T Snutch (2)
Man of match - Gregg White
Report by Tom Johnson
Saturday 5th January Birmingham Exiles 19 - Claverdon 10
Saturday 15th December - Claverdon 0 - Clee Hill 50
Saturday 1st December - Chaddesley Corbett 40 - Claverdon 24
Saturday 24th November - Claverdon 7 - Birmingham Exiles 3
Claverdon reap the ‘Fruit’ of their labour
Claverdon returned to league action at Ossits hole lane on Saturday and secured a hard fought win 7-3 against Birmingham Exiles.
Claverdon have struggled over the last few weeks and the visit of struggling Exiles gave them a great chance to gain some confidence. Despite what looks like a close score Claverdon actually dominated the match throughout. And turned down several kickable penalties in search of tries, there dominance deserved. Despite twice going over the line, firstly from a blind side break from skipper Wyllie, who fed Winger Mullineux to out pace his opposite man to score in the corner but the referee bought it back claiming he had blocked the Exiles no.8, in truth even Linford Christie would not have made up the ground. Then after another fine move by the Claverdon backs outside centre Tom Johnson crashed over only for the referee to not spot the touch down and say it had been held up.
With a few new faces showing well most notably Matt Joyce playing at tight head for the first time, Claverdon dominated the possession but credit to the Exiles defense they kept numerous attacks and unbelievably the first half ended 0-0.
Claverdon did not panic at half time knowing if they were patient then the win would come, the second half started in much the same fashion. 2nd row Paul Carruthers and fly Half Pete Richards were now getting on top of the game. after another spell of pressure the away side finally folded their winger tried to clear ten yards from his own try line, his miscued kick actually went up and behind him and Hooker Anthony ‘Fruit’ Jones collected a difficult high ball and crashed over the line. The try was converted and Claverdon. Finally had the lead they deserved.
Claverdon then had a spell of indiscipline and gave away several penalties but thankfully for the home side the Birmingham kicker failed in all but one leaving the game 7-3. In the last fifteen minutes The Lions continued to pile on the pressure and again the man of the match Dan Mullineux crashed over, again the referee failed to see the grounding and denied the try Mullineux deserved. The game ended 7-3 it was hard fought in difficult conditions and Claverdon were delighted with the win although they have work to do it was something to work with.
Team
Horsfall R, Parkin R, Johnson T, Allsopp L, Mullineux D, Richards P, Wiggy, Johnson M, Thorndale O, Moore S, Edsall C, Carruthers P, Joyce M, Fruit, Knight F.
Subs- Austin D, Busby L, Warren M, Nealon D.
Scorer – Fruit
Con – Wiggy
Man of the match – Dan Mullineux
Saturday 17th November - Warwickshire Shield Round 1 Old Leamingtonians 47 v Claverdon 0
Hard work not enough in local cup derby
Despite a good effort on Saturday, the better organization and quality of their league four opponents showed in the end as Old Leamingtonians finshed 47-0 winners.
The score flattered the home side a bit and despite there being two leagues separating the teams the opening 20 minutes were spent mainly in the Old Leams half. After several good phases of play a miss placed pass from scrum half Wyllie was intercepted and the home centre raced through to score. Claverdon continued to compete and frustrate the home team until a couple of controversial moments saw Old Leams score twice in quick succession. First as the home side broke the Claverdon backs seemed to have the break covered until they had a tackling player taken out of the ball and resulted on a free break and second try. This was quickly followed by a third. After good pressure from the away forwards lead Claverdon to within 2m of their opponents line when a Leamingtonian player appeared to play the ball from an of side position and with Claverdon committed to the attack did not have the numbers back to cover the attack, and they raced the length of the pitch to score under the posts. Half time 19 -0.
The second half saw the forced introduction of the Old Leams usual tight
head returning from injury, he probably thought he would have a nice afternoon
off but the excellent display of the Claverdon pack forced their hand. This
proved decisive and they now started to dominate the set piece. With Claverdon
on the back foot they struggled to make any impression on the scoreboard.
And as they tried more and more to get into the game they left a few gaps
that their well drilled opposition took advantage of. It was a lot better
and closer than the final score of 47-0 suggests and there were some good
performances amongst the Claverdon team, the biggest disappointment was
a shoulder injury to Ewan Robson who had only just returned to the first
team after a long time out. The next two weeks see Claverdon return to League
six action at home this Saturday against Birmingham Exiles then away at
Chaddersly Corbett.
Saturday 10th November - Warley 7 - Claverdon 7
Trip to Warley ends in stalemate although the search for a no. 9 is over!
Whilst Wiggy is away doing whatever he is doing on his honeymoon the Claverdon
1st XV were left in the hands of the captain of the vice Luke 'Sloppy' Allsopp
for a tough away fixture at Warley which last season saw Claverdon victorious
by 16 points to 10.
Luke Allsopp's job was tough from the team selection, with numerous players unavailable most notably Dave Carruthers with what appears to be fat slippage on his right knee and Matt Warren who could not turn up until half time due to 'commitments' but there was a high expectation by the captain of the vice for the players drafted into do a job. It didn't get any easier for Sloppy as 3 players turned up minutes before kick off due to the traffic, although most would have thought the traffic would be busier getting out of Warley.
Claverdon had a mediocre start to the game with little mistakes here and there giving away penalties in good positions preventing Claverdon from getting into the game although things started to look bright for Claverdon who started dominating the scrums one of which lead to a nice blind side attack which Ewan at 9 shipped out to Rich Gray who drew in the winger to pass to Duncan who unluckily failed to keep hold of the ball.
Fruits talented hooking won the ball against the head (not for the first time in the match and not the last) lead to the captain of the vice taking the ball from Ewan going blind and managing to draw the full back in to pop to Rupert who failed to keep hold of the ball in clear sight of the try line.
Claverdon gained a penalty 35 yards from the posts and decided to go for posts due to the nature of the game, what looked to be a solid kick from Sloppy just swerved and bounced of the posts only for an alert Warley to clear.
The scrums were working well for Claverdon and at every opportunity Claverdon opted to scrum. A special mention has to go to Martin Johnson for the bone crunching tackle put in which sounded like the oppositions man had no lungs left and also for throwing in at the lineout for the first half, unfortunately due to the high wind and controversial refereeing decisions Claverdon were not ceasing every opportunity to gain yards from the lineout.
Ewan Roberts was controlling the game at 9 very well for his 1st game back for the 1st XV this season and pack leader Martin Johnson was instilling some much needed aggression into the forwards throughout the first half. Despite all this the first half ended as a scrappy affair at 0 - 0.
After some inspirational yet philosophical half time words from Luke Busby the second half began with a change in the front row with Matt Warren replacing Paul Brannon who was dominant throughout the first half in the scrum and had a good game all over the park. Claverdon started to show much more aggression and gained yards through great running from Fruit, Tony Jones and Martin Johnson.
Good sniping and passing from Ewan started to gain Claverdon some vital yards into the Warley half only for Claverdon to get turned over.
Warley started to sense that they were not going to break down the strong Claverdon defence and tried two penalties from outside the 22 both missed with was a relief for Claverdon, after 60 minutes of rugby the game was still 0 - 0.
A quick tap penalty from Warley caught Claverdon off guard close to the Claverdon try line. Ewan Cleverly/Cynically took the player out before coming 10 yards and whilst stopping a scoring opportunity it gave Claverdon 10 minutes with a man down. Duncan came in at 9 from the wing and was delighted to get a chance to get his hands on the ball.
With the extra man Warley piled on the pressure and made the extra man count
by going over with 15 minutes to go. They made the conversion. On came Dan
Mollineux for Rupert Parkin. Going 7-0 down seemed to galvanised the team
and Claverdon responded well with some ball finally getting out to the backs
in which Trisha Snutch brake through the defence by running a great line
between 12 and 13 drawing in the full back to pass to Tom Johnson who would
have been clean through if could have kept hold of the ball.
Relentless pressure from Claverdon resulted in the Warley 9 being sin binned for the last 10 mins of the game leaving Claverdon a great opportunity to get a point out of this encounter, Tony Jones and Snutchy both came close to equalising at the end. The last open field play ended up in Tom Johnson chipping over in the corner and causing the Warley player to drop the ball for Rich Gray (or Tom not sure to be honest!) to pounce on it for our only try of the game leaving the score at 7 - 5.
And up stepped the captain on the day Sloppy to try and convert a tough kick 5 - 10 metres in from touch, the pressure was on and he produced. He slotted the ball home with what appeared to be ease salvaging a much needed league point.
Special Thanks from Sloppy
First and foremost to the players, as Luke Busby (Mascot for the day) mentioned no one wants to really go to Warley so the only reason we were going there was for a win. That didn't quite happen but the morale pre and post game was good to see and the commitment from the players was second to none.
Secondly to Luke Busby, good show for him to firstly come and support the boys and give us a pep talk pre kick off and at half time but also for helping me out during the week to co organise things. Thanks very much.
Finally to Dave Austin, great show of Claverdon spirit. Dave could have had a game for the 2's but was happy to come as cover for the forwards for us at Warley. Didn't get any game time this week but did not shout and moan and was a true team player. Great attitude.
Man of the Match
Ewan Roberts
Comments after the game
"My only contribution to the game was giving away 2 penalties and 2 knock ons" Parkin reflecting on his performance
"Who is Wiggy?" Tony Jones thinking Sloppy had been captain all season
"The match report headline should read the search for the Claverdon 9 is over" Duncan on Ewan's performance
Team: Fraser Knight, Fruit, Paul Brannon, Chris Edsall, Paul Carruthers,
Tony Jones, Simon Arbuthnot, Martin Johnson, Ewan Roberts, Luke Allsopp
©, Rupert Parkin, Terrence Snutch, Tom Johnson, Duncan Nealon, Richard
Gray, Subs: Matt Warren (40), Dan Mollineux(65), SNU - Dave Austin
Scorers
Tries: Tom Johnson/Rich Gray?
Cons: Sloppy x 1
Saturday 27th October - Claverdon 42 - Bredon Star 0
Vice Presidents treated to seven try thriller
Saturday saw Claverdon's first Vice Presidents lunch of the season and they
were treated to a high scoring game in which the hosts ran out comfortable
winners 48-0.
This should have been the first ever league meeting between Claverdon and Bredon Star but Bredon forfeited the match on Friday Morning when they couldn't field a full front row, and Claverdon were awarded the match. But with the dinner already organised and the Ossets hole lane club expecting close to one hundred VP's Claverdon agreed to lend Bredon a front row player and to play the game as a friendly.
The games started well with the home side players treating the game and their opponents with respect, and from the kick off put pressure on the visitors. The pressure told after a few minutes and a penalty was awarded which was duly slotted over to give Claverdon the lead. As the half progressed the Lions forwards started to get more and more control and they were rewarded with two excellent tries first after some great rucking and strong ball carrying no.8 Martin Johnson smashed over for the first of his two tries his second followed a few minutes later when the forwards drove a scrum over from 10yrds out, both were converted by Skipper Wyllie. Claverdon dominated the remainder of the half and were rewarded further in the last few moments when another great drive from the scrum resulted in scrum half Wyllie picking up and going blind before releasing pacy winger Tom Johnson to finish in the corner. Again the extra two points were added.
Half time 24-0
The second half was played in much the same vain, despite a valid effort
from Bredon the domination of the Claverdon forwards now meant that the
backs were launching attacks from the front foot, from one such attack Centre
Busby ran in from 22 yards stepping two players and his partner at 13 Sam
Horswill followed suite and crash through after a well timed scissor move.
Both conversions were missed leaving the score 34-0. With the home crowed
behind them there was no stopping the rampant lions and only some very good
defence and a couple of wild passes kept the score down. It wasn't to last
though and Claverdon complete the victory with two well worked tries firstly
after running the
Ball through several fazes and offloading before contact lock Fraser Knight
dived over and then flanker Darren Arris benefited from another blindside
break from Wyllie to beat his man and score the last try of the day, both
were converted leaving the end score 48-0.
It was a good performance by the home side and a good confidence builder
for the coming weeks.
Finally thanks to Rory Nicol and Dave Phillips for playing for the opposition
and making a game of it.
Team was - Horsfall, Johnson T, Horswill, Busby, Molinoux, Snutch, Wyllie, Johnson M, Arris, Thorndale, Knight, Glover, Carruthers D, Fruit, Warren.
Scorers -
Tries M Johnson x 2, T Johnson, Busby, Horswill, Knight, Arris
Cons - Wyllie x 5
Pens - Wyllie x1
Saturday 20th October - Birmingham Civil Service 26 - Claverdon 22
Moore- signs of improvement
Claverdon 1sts are showed goods signs of improvement despite losing a very tough fixture away to Civil Service. And non more so than the excellent Simon Moore at open side who not only tackled well but linked the forwards and backs like all good no.7’s. he was closely followed by back row partner Olly Thorndale who is also starting to find his feet in the 1st xv.
With it being world cup final day Claverdon were missing some of their regular faces and credit must go to Nigel Pigdon at hooker and Paul Davies Snr at full back who stepped in to the not so small shoes of Fruit and Tom Bennett respectively and both had fine matches. Things didn’t start well with Rich Grey pulling his hamstring in the warm up, but this seemed to galvanize the boys and from kick off the away side started strongly. First chance of the game fell to Claverdon but a difficult long penalty kick narrowly missed, then against the run of play and despite some heroic try line defense Civil service crashed over for close range and converted the try 7-0. The rest of the first half was dominated by Claverdon and Bertram succeeded with his second chance to bring it back to 7-3 then two fantastic team tries one from Rob Horsfall and the other from man of the match Moore put claverdon in a commanding position17-7. Half time
The second half started brightly for Claverdon but a series of odd refereeing decisions whould cost the away side. Firstly after awarding Claverdon a penalty from 35m out skipper Wyllie called post, the opposition retreated to the line and the kicking tee came on. After lining up the kick Bertram expertly slotted the points only to have it disallowed by the official for not telling him we were going for posts despite pleading that we had and what did he think we were doing when the ball was placed on the tee. He would not change his decision. From the resulting penalty service kicked to the touchline and a clever line out move sent them over in the corner.17-14. This was quickly followed by a second after indecision by the Claverdon winger left a 3 on 1 and the home side scored under the posts. 17 - 21. Claverdon through every thing they had at Service now and were rewarded with an excellent solo try from Sam Horswill bringing the game to 22 - 21the conversion was missed. With the game tight the referee made his second costly blunder after being under pressure near their own line Wiggy made a blind side break drawing the winger on to him before releasing Molanoux . his pace took him to the half way and after stepping out side the full back released the ball back inside to a team mate who now had a free run in only for the ref to say he had run into touch despite the Service touch judge saying he was well in, the referee chose to ignore this and the chance was gone. Then service once again showed why the do so well at home and excellent forward work resulted in the winning try 22 – 26. A narrow defeat, but pleasing signs. And much to feel positive about for this weeks VP’s game at home v Bredon Star
Team was
Paul Davies, Dan Molenoux, Rob Horsefall, San Horswill, Rupert Parkin, Olly Bertram, Wiggy, Animal, Simon Moore, Olly Thorndale, John Martin, John Glover, Fraser Knight, Nigel Pigdon, Matt Warren.
Scorers
Tries- Horswill, Horsfall and Moore
Pens – Bertram x1
Cons – Bertram x
MoM – Simon Moore
Saturday 6th October - Bromyard 13 - Claverdon 16
Claverdon took their first league points of the season with an excellent victory over Bromyard away from home on Saturday. The lions went into the game determined to put last weeks one point defeat to Highly behind them and did so with a really well fought win against a team the beat them away last season. The game started with the hour long coach journey from Ossetts hole lane and any thoughts of the boys not being switched on were quickly dispelled as Claverdon took the game to their hosts from the kick off. Good work from the forwards forced a turnover from kick off and from the resulting pen Bertram put his team deep into the Bromyard half. From the resulting line out the home side conceded a penalty which Bertram dispatched with ease. 3-0. Despite having good pressure and territory it was Bromyard the struck next kicking three points of their own 3-3. Another penalty each kept the game closer than bromyard deserved. And their defence kept out Claverdons attacks again and again, finally Claverdon thought they had crossed the line, an inch perfect chip over the top was chased down by the resurgent Parkin who dived over the ball and touch down. The celebrations though were short lived as the referee decided Parkin did not have control of the ball and disallowed the score. then right on half time when more excellent work by the lions pack gave quick ball to the backs who moved the ball down the line well to full back Bennett, his run and clever grubber put winger Rob Horsefall in for his second try in two games, the difficult touchline conversion was missed. Half time 11 - 6.
Claverdon were happy at the turn around but perhaps had not switched back on quick enough as the home side took advantage and scored after just two minutes of the second half, the extra two points were added leaving the score 13 - 11. Claverdon though did not panic and picked up the pressure again and started to take control of the match, the eventual winning try though came from a Bromyard scrum, Claverdon's forwards put the push on and scrum half Wiggy caught his opposite no. as he tried to pass to his no.10, this resulted in the ball bouncing in front of him and Wiggy following up poked the ball past the fly half and won the race to the loose ball to touch down. The conversion was missed. 16- 13. Claverdon never looked like losing this lead and should have gone further ahead when a penalty near the posts struck the upright and went wide. It wasn't to matter though as the Lions held out to secure victory.
Every man played his part but the forwards as a group were superb and fraser playing hooker for the first time took two against the head. And for the second week running Rupert Parkin was man of the match, his tackling and strong running proving a inspiration to the rest of the players.
Team
Bennett, Parkin, Horswill, Snutch, Horsfall, Bertram, Wiggy, Johnson M,
Allsopp, Moore, Glover, Stone, Warren, Knight, Carruthers D.
Scorers
Tries - Horsfall, Wiggy
Penalties - Bertram x 2
M-O-M - Parkin
Saturday 29th September - Claverdon 19 - Highley 20
After a promising start to the season Claverdon's promotions ambitions
took another knock this week when they went down 19-20 to newcomers Highley.
The game was played at a tremendous pace with both teams sounding each other
out for the first 15 minutes. First Blood went to Highly you after a quick
penalty caught Claverdon napping they're 10 ran through a handful of players
that were not 10 and slipped a well weighted pass to the Highley centre
ran round the Claverdon 2nd row that was covering an out of position full
back, the conversion was missed.
Claverdon game back well and were enjoying the majority of possession, and
dominating the set piece, they just couldn't turned possession in to points,
good breaks by Snutchy and Busby in the centres combined with the strong
running of Carruthers from the set piece saw Claverdon advance further up
the pitch only to see the ball get turned over, a problem that occurred
throughout the game as Claverdon players got isolated.
After a short period of Highley possession just inside the Claverdon half
they managed to break through the Claverdon defence, which lacked its usual
harmony of organisation and scored in the corner to make the score 10-0.
With 30 minutes gone and Claverdon trailing by 10 points they eventually
turned up and started to play the kind of rugby they play best. With the
introduction of Animal in the line for an ill Knight Claverdon won good
ball at 4 on the Highley 10 metre line and after a phase with the forwards
the ball was fizzed through the backs to Busby who drew his man sidestepped
and released Rabbi Horsefall to crash over in the corner. The conversion
was missed.
After halftime Claverdon came out with the bit between there teeth and seemed
to have a penchant for quick ball, with Wiggy and Bertram feeding the backs
good ball. Attacking down the right through Parkin who was a constant threat
all game in a sudden return to form, tackling well above his weight and
making yards with the ball Claverdon looked dangerous and when a floaty
pass was given to Parkin he looked certain to score, that was until the
Highly winger manages to intercept the pass, run the length of the pitch
and score, but like Cackey Sackey he also did not go for the posts and flopped
over in the corner, the conversion was missed.
So 15-5 Claverdons backs where against the wall, when things got worse,
an injury to a Highly player resulted in a Highly penalty, the problem was
the Claverdon pack thought it was a scrum. The Highly 10 proceeded to tap
and go and snake through the disorganised defence to score, fortunately
his kicking was nothing like his running play and he missed again.
With 15 minutes left needing 2 tries and a penalty Claverdon did not give
up the fight, the pack led by the experienced Johnston and Jones rallied
well and when non stop pressure on the Highly try line resulted in a 5m
penalty Carruthers came from deep to crash over with ease under the posts,
Bertram converted.
Claverdon continued to bombard the Highly line but time was running out
fast, again awarded a penalty five yards out quick thinking 10 Bertram put
up a high cross field kick into the in goal area and full back rose like
a kipper against a disorganised highly defence to take the high ball cleanly
and score in the corner.
Bertram got the kick but that was it Claverdon ran out of time, the 2nd
league defeat of the year but promising signs of what the team could do
when playing well. This week they travel to Bromyard for a must win fixture.
22/09/09 2nd Round Junior Vase - Kempston 48 - Claverdon 7
Claverdon’s cup run came to an abrupt end this weekend to a team in Milton Keynes called Kempston.
With a much changed line up from previous weeks Claverdon’s hopes were still high for a cup run in the junior vase. What will give us heart from this game is the players who made the step up from the 2nd team actually made more of an impact than the regular 1st team players and that should make everyone wake up and realise that if you are picked for the 1st team this is not a guaranteed thing. If you looked at the team for Saturday and compared it to the game against Redditch not one player was in the same position!
From the off mistakes were rife with claverdon making wrong decisions at important times, you could say with so many changes this might be expected but we cannot use this as an excuse as we have been working so hard in training.
What Kempston lacked in speed and agility they made up with power and aggression breaking the midfield almost every opportunity (this being my fault!) the Kempston 12 having a field day breaking the game line 9 times out of 10.
The try claverdon scored was definitely the highlight of the 1st half, with the pack dominating at the breakdown, something which we did most of the game infact, Ian Wyllie playing at 10 floated a ball out to Luke at 12 who drew in the 12 and 13 of Kempston and zipped the ball to sam who created the space for Dan Molineux to make the break. Sam Continued to support Dan who floated a beautiful pass back onto the inside showing great vision and awareness for sam to put down in the corner. Ian as always when under pressure delivered.
Unfortunately this did not prove a catalyst to rejuvenate Claverdon and more individual errors meant that more tries were conceded.
Second half wasn’t much of an improvement, special mentions going to the pack who doggedly fought a very strong pack and did not look out of place. With Ian going off with a dead arse Luke went in at 10 and we ended with a back row player playing on the wing.
I think the one thing we can take from this game is we cannot just expect things to happen, we need to as a squad, as a club decide what we want, where we want to go, what we need to do to achieve.
Highlights of the game would also have to be defensively with Sam as ever making important tackles, Tom Bennett nailing his opposite man numerous times and Oli Thorndale and Si Moore Jnr showing 80 minutes non stop aggression and taking the game to the Kempston forwards.
Post Match Comments
Tony Jones in the changing rooms “Luke, you were S**t”
Ian when noticing a woman with a pram trying to get passed Luke after the game “That’s the 1st person you have blocked today Sloppy”
Oli Thorndale “For crying out loud where are the chips?!?”
Luke Allsopp
Redditch 46 - Claverdon 3
Redditch and Claverdon have a reputation for being among the two most explosive sides in the Midlands but anyone expecting a pulsating opening encounter to this league clash was to be disappointed, in fact it was probably on par with the previous nights encounter.
Claverdon kicked off downhill to start the match, with Redditch receiving, following disappointment last year from missing out on promotion. The game was played at high intensity in the heat from the afternoon's sun. After several encounters from the Redditch back row into the heart of Claverdons defence, the ball was sent wide only for Redditch winger A Hole to trip over and kick it into touch.
Claverdon should have drawn first blood, with a penalty kick from just inside their own half, only for fly half O Bertram to land it just short. Redditch kept on the pressure and after 23 minuets, following numerous movements, the ball was sent wide and Redditch nipped in at the corner, with a concerted defensive effort from former Repton fluffer R J Parkin who was making his second start for Claverdon 1st XV this season.
The game was always going to be a clash of styles, with Claverdon relying on their forward strength and a more structured approach to combat Redditch's greater pace, power and skill out wide.
As half time approached, Claverdon were using the skills of centres T Snutch and T Bennett to try and open up Redditch defense, but failed to do so and after a cuddle on the floor with their opposite men, saw T Bennett and his opposite centre B Lowme being sin binned. Claverdon secured 3 points from the penalty kick, only for Redditch to score in the final play of the first half to make the score 12 -3.
Strong words were used at half time to try and motivate a hungover Claverdon pack. It worked for the first 2 minuets of the second half…and then the flood gates opened. Claverdon's defence turned into a bowl of jelly and wobbled all over the place. Time for change. J Glover and R J 'fluffer' Parkin were replaced by O Thorndale and D E Nealon, two outstanding individuals both on and off the pitch.
No matter what Claverdon did, pressure was excreted by an excited Redditch team, who were obviously looking forward to the fair in town that evening. Try's were being leaked through the middle of the defense like a batch of laxatives had been put in the half time water and the pace of the Redditch wingers showed up the tired and lethargic Claverdon backs.
The Claverdon pack struggled to settle, which proved successful against former opposition this season, and provided a relatively unstable platform for the young backs to work from. Redditch drove up the middle of the pitch on several occasions and used their basic back moves well enough to grease open the Claverdon defense. Solid tackling from A Jones and D Ariss could not stop a hot and sweaty Redditch pack moving forward. Redditch hooker E Atme was close to scoring under the posts until both F Knight and D Evans picked their man and drove him 10 yards away from the Claverdon line, before dumping him on the floor. Hurrah.
However, Claverdon did turn the ball over after a series of drives by the Redditch forwards for Claverdon winger T Johnson to show a clean pair of heels to run 40 yards only to meet the covering Redditch full back G Oodlad who tackled him into touch.
Even with a poor start to the League campaign, there were plenty of positives to work on at Tuesday nights training session and both forward and backs coach are excited about the season ahead.
Claverdon skipper Ian Wylie was disappointed and had this to say after the game 'I am so pleased to be leaving Redditch in a few minuets what a….' unfortunately we missed the last few words.
Next week Claverdon travel down the M1 to Milton Keynes, to play in the 2nd round of the Junior EDF Vase.
Claverdon 38 - Bournville 2nd XV 14
Lions roar on!
After a fine win in last weekends season opener, Claverdon continued their fine start to the season with another emphatic victory against Bournville at Ossets Hole Lane on Saturday.
Forced into no less than 8 changes from the side that racked up 61 points last week the Lions showed they have strength in depth by scoring 6 tries in a 38-14 win. The home side started strongly and took the lead early in the first half when No. 8 Luke Allsopp broke blind from a scrum and fed scrum half 'Wiggy' Wyllie who found the gap between wing and full back to go over from 10yds out Wyllie added the conversion. The lead was increased shortly after through inside centre Terry Snutch whose power full brake smashed through the Bournville backline like a hot knife through chocolate! This was also converted by Grey. The Lions forwards were again showing their power despite there being a completely new back row, dominating the scrums and lineout with Glover winning opposition line out ball. And it was a well worked forward move that led to the third try this time good maul work left a gap blind that no. 8 Allsopp gratefully charged through and scored under the posts, Wyllie's conversion from out wide hit the upright. After nearly scoring under the posts Claverdon had a moment's indiscipline throwing the ball away at the decision and two kicks to touch later Bournville full back crashed through with a clever scissor move and scored under the posts. 19 -7. Claverdon though continued to pile on the pressure and debut winger Dan Molanoux came close to adding to the lead just being stopped yards from the line. With the opposition forwards looking 'flaky' Claverdon finished with a flourish Skipper Wyllie grabbing his second after braking from a ruck and spotting a gap between the back row and fly half ran in under the posts, Grey again added the extra two points
The second half was interrupted by a couple of substitutions and a neck injury to the away side's hooker who was strechered off and then taken by ambulance to hospital to be checked out, fortunately he was ok and released later in the evening.
Despite more Claverdon pressure it was a more even second half with both sides scoring early. Claverdon's newest flyer Tom Bennett adding to his two tries last week by scoring a dazzling solo effort from inside his own half. After the break for the injury Claverdon added a further try from Man of the Match Dave Carruthers whose speed and strength helped him crash through several players to touch down this was converted. Another strong performance for Claverdon then as they prepare for the first league game away at title favourite's Redditch on Saturday.
Team- Horsfall, Molenoux, Bennett, Snutch, Parkin, Grey, Wyllie, Allsopp, Thorndale, Knight, Caruthers P, Glover, Caruthers D, Evans, Stone.
Scorers
Wyllie x 2
Snutch
Bennett
Caruthers D
Allsopp
Conversions
Wyllie x 2
Grey x2
Man of Match
D Carruthers/ P Caruthers (joint)
