This is what it's all about. Proper 3rd team rugby, good banter, nice weather and a local derby. However after a couple of last minute cry offs Clevedon were struggling to get out a full fifteen. In the end we started with thirteen. The old guard were very much to the fore once again, with appearances from Neil West, John Evans, Mark Hawkes and Jeff Dunn. At the other end of the spectrum young Joe Kemp injected a bit of pace out on the wing. Luke Filby and Will Stonier were back again for the first time since Christmas (in other words since it started to get warm again). The usual regulars were present, such as the auburn haired Ben Hazeldine, a walking advertisement for why not to use 'Just For Men' hair dye. Match day photos can be found here
The game got off to a ferocious start and the teams looked to be fairly evenly matched, both sides having players of all shapes and sizes and 'experience'. Clevedon took the advantage early with a score from Chris Barrow, but failed to convert. After some missed opportunities Gordano fought back with some strong running, crashing through under the posts and successfully converting to take the lead. Clevedon rallied though and had what seemed a good try by Big Col in the corner disallowed.
Going into the second half the team became more organised and came up with a better game plan. It paid dividends. Westy made a break after some good movement before passing to Stonier who crashed over to score. Clevedon began to dominate and Matt Groves, making a rare celebrity guest appearance, broke free on the half way line, before handing off the scrum half to score. After crossing the try line Groves raised a smile with a Ben Cohen-esq dive that he bottled whilst in the air, realising that the ground was a bit too hard and there could have been potentially tear jerking interface between turf and family jewels.
Clevedon were now in the driving seat and the pacey Barrow crossed over again to increase the lead. Another try was disallowed after Barrow was held up on the line. Unfortunately later on Barrow suffered a knee injury and limped out of the game, get well soon mate. On quite a hot day the fine athletes on both teams were glad to hear the final whistle which signalled the time for some post game liquid refreshment…
