Battling Sharks get bogged down

Heavy conditions led to a gruelling low scoring contest between the teams and the initiative swung to and fro throughout 80 minutes but whilst Clevedon capitalised on the few chances that arose, Gordano failed to do so and were left to rue missed opportunites.

Sharks got off to a promising start and dominated the game for the first thirty minutes, kicking for territory and using the lineout to feed the ball out wide but too many wayward passes and handling errors meant that the Backs rarely got into a stride. Clevedon closed down quickly and used their weight advantage in the Forwards to hold and drive eventually setting up the best move of the match on the stroke of half time when they fed the ball from left to right and back again to score.

The second half started ominously with the visitors camped in Sharks' 22 for ten minutes until they eventually fed the ball out from a 5 yard scrum to drive through the centre to extend the lead. Gordano responded immediately and produced their best rugby of the match with a more aggressive approach, keeping the ball in hand they nearly scored on a couple of occasions but the visitors defence was too well drilled. In a breakaway move at the end of the match, Clevedon sealed the victory with a brutal drive through a determined but clearly exhausted defensive line.

Despite a spirited performance, the inability to utilise maximum pace and fast hands caused the Gordano Backs too many problems and the Forwards were kept fully occupied trying to contain Clevedons aggressive Pack who took every opportunity to go on the offence. A lack of match fitness was apparent and it was no coincidence that two of the three tries were conceded in the dying seconds of each half. It was good to see that the team maintained a threat throughout and but for a couple of unlucky bounces it is highly likely that at least one try would have been scored in response.

HT: 0-7

FT: 0-19

Scorers

Clevedon Tries: Rami James, Mason Parslow, Tom Upton

Conv: Ben Thole (2)