Clevedon continue their revival

Clevedon 45 pts St Mary's Old Boys 11 ptsTHE Clevedon rollercoaster rolls on with four wins on the trot and two local derbies under their belts.The early phases were dictated by the visitors and in one attack, a dropped pass was picked up by Chris Cates who sprinted the length of the field to score a try, which was converted by Steve Johnson.It was obvious from the start that Clevedon had the upper hand in the scrums and the front row of Potts, Tucker and Stone dominated throughout the game. Johnson kicked two penalties and good work by Owen Biggins presented Ben Chase with a well-taken try, Johnson again converting. Before the break Johnson kicked his third penalty, as Clevedon led 23-0 at half time.The second half saw Mary's throw everything at Clevedon but the home defence was solid. Mary's kicked a penalty, which Johnson replied in kind, but Mary's then kicked a second penalty.Clevedon went off the boil for a period, and a poor clearance kick allowed Mary's to counter attack and score a try. This setback woke Clevedon up and they decided to attack with ball in hand instead of kicking possession away. The first of three late tries came from a good handling movement resulting in Simon Johns scoring near the posts, and Johnson converted.Within minutes Johns used his big muscular frame to run 70 metres to score his second try, mowing down all opposition in front of him. Right at the end, after good rucking and mauling by the pack, Tom Thie flashed over for a try, which Johnson converted.Again the line-out functioned well with Roger Birkin and Ben Chase doing well. James Shopland had an outstanding game, Tom O'Rourke was as solid as ever in midfield and Ashley Vailes gave another dogged performance, Harvey Russell improves with every game, as does Grant Cherrington. Joe Williams, Tom O'Rourke, John Potts and Roger Birkin have been selected to play for Somerset Saxons on April 25.On Saturday, Clevedon are away at St Ives.