Lacklustre second-half spell costs Clevedon at Thornbury

Tries from Tom Thie and Aaron Rice weren’t enough for the visitors, who conceded twice in the opening minutes of the second period to give themselves too much to do in the remainder of the game.

Thornbury raced into a 9-0 lead courtesy of three penalties from the boot of Tom Luke, but Clevedon hit back on 25 minutes with a well-worked try from Tom Thie.

Quick hands in midfield from Oscar James released Mike Lowis in the outside channel – and his expertly timed pass freed up Tom Thie to touch down, with Carpenter adding the conversion.

Some resolute Clevedon defending twice denied the hosts when ten metres out, but a hopeful kick through shortly before half-time saw the ball bounce kindly for a Thornbury player to power over and give the home side a 16-7 half-time lead.

Needing a quick response after the break, Clevedon shot themselves in the foot with a sloppy start to the second-half, as high-flying Thornbury took full advantage with two tries in five minutes.

They were given a lifeline on the hour mark when Aaron Rice broke a tackle on halfway before outpacing the covering defence to dot down in the left-hand corner – but Clevedon had given themselves too much of a mountain to climb and were unable to find their way across the whitewash again.

There are no league fixtures this weekend, but Clevedon return to action on November 7 at home to Camborne, in desperate need of a win to kick-start their campaign.