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| Clevedon II 26 Chepstow 12 |
| 10th September 2005 |
| Report by Tony Dauncey
Clevedon's adventurous mix of experience and youth came up against a much bigger Whitehall XV for there first merit table clash of the new season. This didn't deter them though and a bright start was made as the pack stole good ball in the scrummage thanks to great work from the young trio of Chris Alexander, Colin Robinson and Jeff Durant, this bought the reward of three points from the huge boot of Rory Biggins. Clevedon then lost the services of centre Matthew Harris to a nasty head injury, but this blow did not stop them going further ahead as the elusive Bassett scampered over for a try, Biggins converting. Whitehall responded with a penalty after Clevedons' forwards infringed and that was the scoring for the first half. In the second half Clevedon started brightly, with the forwards and especially Durant and Wheeler making huge inroads into Whitehall's territory. This led to quick ball and Gulli running in a try in front of his adoring fan club. Whitehall tried to come back but the tackling of O'Rourke, Page and the exiting Harvey Warren gave them no way back. Rory Biggins put the last nail in the Whitehall coffin by nailing a long range penalty, then slipping over for a converted try, thanks to good work by Hand for a personal total of 15 points in his 2nd team debut. A great start to the season for the team under new captain Dauncey with promising things to come this season, and a special mention to Birdy for his great work off the ball. |