Matson 7 Clevedon 27
16th November 2002

Back to 1st XV fixtures This fixture wasn't for the feint-hearted. A wet narrow and sloping pitch liberally strewn with dog excrement, aided and abetted by a foul grey day, perfectly matched the temperament of this occasionally ill-tempered game. Clevedon showed considerable restraint in the face of allegedly intimidating tactics by Matson and took an early lead with a penalty by Steve Johnson who later repeated the feat twice more. Clevedon went close to scoring a try on a couple of occasions, but some good tackling by the Matson winger prevented the lead being extended. John Pearce's magnificent effort was deemed held up. Shortly before half time, Captain Jeff Durant left the field with a leg injury and was replaced by the worst supporter in the world, Nick Hill. From that moment on the touch line was a peaceful place to be, with only the occasional holler(?) from the travelling faithful breaking the silence. The second half saw the Matson winger score a try by running almost the length of the short pitch, after weaving and dummying his way through the entire Clevedon pack. Clevedon now had a fight on their hands and it was the reliable Johnson who further increased their lead with two more penalties. The Clevedon pack, starring man of the match Bradley Kemp who was absolutely awesome in everything he did around the park (and surely a Somerset prop before long?), began to dominate after Lowis sensibly kicked for position into the sloping lefthand corner. From a lineout, won by man mountain John Pearce, flanker Owen Biggins scored a try from 20 metres with Johnson converting. With a few minutes remaining, replacement Tom Thie scored to make the score 7-27 and after a flurry of yellow-carded punches thrown by the Matson second row in a fit of pique, Clevedon were the deserved winners. A hot foaming bath awaited the players on their return to the changing rooms, which was followed by a good belly-busting curry, rice and chips in front of the recorded England Australia game - not a bad day out after all! Match day photos can be found here Next Saturday Clevedon are at home to Taunton, KO 14:30 Back to 1st XV fixtures