Clevedon 22 Swanage & Wareham 8
26th April 2003

Back to 1st XV fixtures This playoff game for promotion into South West Division one was not a classic with both sides living on their nerves. Clevedon took a while to settle and a mistake in defence gifted Swanage a try, which was quickly increased with a penalty to lead 8 nil after 10 minutes. With great pressure on both sides with so much at stake, Clevedon got on the score board with a try by star Owen Biggins from a well worked tapped penalty move. Steve Johnson converted. The young Clevedon braves settled into their normal groove under the guidance of Tim Brooks and captain Jeff Durant and in a magical ten minutes scored a well earned try by Chris Cates. A fine break from the back of the scrum by James Shopland put Mike Lowis over in the corner. Johnson converted from the touchline. The Clevedon scrum was always under pressure and the lineout really did not function. The second half was an even affair with Swanage dominating the rolling mauls and Clevedon's defence standing firm. Clevedon dogged out the half with good solid work and with John Pearce and Chris Page to the fore, came up with the goods for Steve Johnson to land a crucial penalty to put the game beyond the reach of Swanage. When the final whistle blew, Clevedon were duly promoted to South West One, due in no small part to Club Physio Morph Richards for keeping the players on the pitch. Match day photos can be found here Johnny H's photos can be found here Derek Lilley's photos can be found here Back to 1st XV fixtures