A Glorious Day for some Glorious Rugby!

Clevedon Under 14’s first game of the new season could not have taken place in better conditions with blazing sunshine and an immaculate pitch at Clevedon School providing the perfect backdrop for the arrival of Old Morganians from Bridgwater.

A squad of 19 had been assembled for the clash with the injured Rory McGuigan acting as willing water boy and tee carrier! It was a duty he was to perform on no less than eight occasions as the Clevedon boys, and in particular the backs, showed their ability with some scintillating running and clever interplay throughout the game.

There was no interplay required for the first score though, instead Mackenzie Poulter crossed after a storming solo run which left a number of defenders lying in his wake. Ethan Thomas slotted the conversion for an early 7-0 lead and he was on hand to score a try himself from close range shortly afterwards after great work by Luke Palmer with Thomas again converting, this time off a post.

At 14-0 Clevedon looked comfortable against bigger opposition and had a great chance to extend their lead further from a five metre scrum away from their opponents line but a catalogue of errors allowed Old Morganians to gain a platform in Clevedon’s half and a strong run from their number Seven led to their opening score under the posts. Their goal kicking prop duly converted to halve the deficit.

Back came Clevedon with the scrum holding firm against a much heavier looking eight and more excellent teamwork led to Harry Lyons crashing over for a well worked try. Soon after that and we saw Harry’s centre partner, Luke McLaughlin, show great pace and strength to outstrip the defence and race in under the posts. Thomas converted this one after missing with his earlier effort and the boys went in to half time with a healthy 26-7 lead.

With the front five now stepping up their game under exhortation from John on the side lines, the second half continued in a similar vein to the first with Poulter scampering down the right touchline for another excellent try before probably the pick of the day, a flowing move from side to side and moving through multiple pairs of hands ending with Lyons powering over for a wonderful touchdown.

Thomas converted both scores before notching his second try of the day, a neat sidestep leaving the full back floundering and opening a path for a clear run to the line. Thomas’ conversion made the score 47-7 but Old Morganians battled gamely to the last and deserved their try and conversion that followed as a just reward. But the last word rightly went to Clevedon with McLoughlin showing his athletic prowess once more to scythe past would be tacklers for an excellent touchdown and leave Thomas with the simplest of conversions to make a final score of 54-14.

Despite the scoring being limited to just four boys, this was a real team effort and a joy to watch for the spectators on the touchline. The pack fought valiantly and more than held their own to prove the platform for a back line that were hugely dangerous throughout and their athleticism, footwork, running lines and handling skills promise much for the coming season.