Clevedon 20 St Mary's Old Boys 22
21st September 2002

Back to 1st XV fixtures This was Clevedon's first defeat since last November and they were unlucky to lose having scored three excellent tries to St Mary's one. Unfortunately, Clevedon's verbal discipline could have been better and fewer penalties at the breakdown would have given Clevedon their just reward. This highly competitive game saw St Mary's take the lead with a penalty, which was soon cancelled out by Steve Johnson. St Mary's had the better of the first quarter and it was Clevedon's superb defence that kept them in the game. St Mary's again took the lead with a penalty. Approaching half time, Clevedon had a purple patch with slick handling and good support play, which led to Owen Biggins scoring in the corner for Johnson to convert. Back came Clevedon with another swift, slick move, which resulted in Mike Lowis scoring in the opposite corner. Clevedon led 15-6 at the break. The second half saw Clevedon without the cornerstone of the backs, Tim Brooks. St Mary's now applied tremendous pressure and this resulted in a converted try. Some weird decisions resulted in St. Mary's taking the lead through two more penalties to lead 19-15 with time running out. A counter attack started by Mike Lowis and numerous supporting players ended up with Anthony Fox going over for Clevedon to take the lead. The vital conversion kick failed. Right at the death, St Mary's kicked their fifth penalty to win the game. Clevedon's pack scrummaged well and this was an unfortunate loss that should not detract from the good positive rugby Clevedon are playing this season. Match day photos can be found here Additional photos from John Higman can be found here. Next week, Clevedon are away to Cleve in the League. KO 15:00 Back to 1st XV fixtures