South West 2 League Rugby Report 05/01/08

Yatton 19  Clevedon 17

Yatton were determined from the start of this game and the first ten minutes were spent in the Clevedon half.

The pressure from the home side’s forwards brought the first penalty for an offside offence and Tony Hill took the points. The Yatton team certainly looked a far better side than their league position suggests and on Saturday they were out to prove it.

Eventually after a good spell of sustained pressure though, Clevedon’s Joe Kinniecki finished a fine try. The conditions helped neither side but Yatton’s forwards then started to earn good possession and their endeavour won two more penalties before half time.

Halftime score Yatton 9 Clevedon 5

Yatton began the second half with the same spirit and their backs took full advantage of Clevedon indecision, Alan Walters and Tony Hill combining for an excellent try making the score 14-5.

Midway through the half the Clevedon forwards worked hard to gain a push over try which was scored by Dave Rawl and converted by Owen Biggins.

Mike Lowis then scored a well taken individual try after Yatton misplaced a clearance kick; with the conversion missed, this now brought the score to 14-17 in Clevedon's favour.

Yatton however, were always up for the challenge and sheer determination from Mike Harris to retain possession gained ground and set up John Shorney for the kick ahead. Stuart Glover, playing his debut game for the firsts and only being on the pitch for two minutes, took the try as Clevedon fumbled behind the line.

Time ran out for the conversion and a tense few minutes followed as both sides were given penalty kicks, Clevedon missing a shot at goal with theirs. The home side subsequently held out for a hard fought victory.

Yatton’s under 16 side also had a successful day on Sunday when they came out victors over a strong Cleve side in the Combination Cup Final. The club are particularly proud of this talented side who have succeeded in bringing home the combination cup for three successive seasons at under 14, 15 and now 16s.

The game was hard fought from the start both sides producing an excellent standard of rugby. The Yatton side all played an outstanding game but George Osbourne deserves a mention as his penalty conversions were superb and gave them the edge.