Alcester 2nds to be crowned Warwickshire Shield winners - The Redditch Standard

Alcester 2nds to be crowned Warwickshire Shield winners

Redditch Editorial 24th Jan, 2017   0

ALCESTER 2nd XV will be awarded the Warwickshire 2nd XV Shield without having to play the final.

Having won their semi-final against Coventrians earlier in the month, the Kings Coughton men were awaiting the outcome of the Atherstone and Claverdon game to learn who their final opponents would be.

However, those semi-finalists failed to play their game by the allotted deadline and the competition organisers denoted that Alcester should be crowned champions as a result.

Whilst this is a disappointing way to win any competition, the trophy is a deserved reward for the effort put in this season by a number of people to ensure a 2nd XV is fielded each week when early in the campaign that looked most unlikely.




Director of Rugby and 2nd XV captain Stuart Whitehead takes most credit for that and will look forward to getting his hands on the winners shield on a date that is still to be announced.

Alcester 2nds 27 Claverdon 2nds 24


ALCESTER 2nds claimed a third successive victory with a win over their neighbours that looked most unlikely until late in the game.

Illness, injuries, unavailability and 1st XV call-ups had robbed Alcester of a number of regulars in the run-up to the game, so there was a very threadbare look to their side and in fact they had to be lent players by their opponents to make up the numbers, but still started the game a man down on the visitors.

The Alcester side also featured chairman Jeff Williams, who played at loose head prop and was making his latest rugby comeback, now the wrong side of 50 and following knee replacement surgery since he last played.

Claverdon started well and raced into an early two-try lead. Their second score was a superb team try as the ball went through numerous sets of hands in the forwards and backs on its way to the try-line.

When the visitors crossed for a third try inside half an hour, it looked like it would be a very long and painful afternoon for Alcester as they were struggling to get any real foothold in the game with the Claverdon pack on top at the scrum and using their bigger and more powerful forwards with ball in hand to drive holes in the home defence.

The home side were, however, getting a regular supply of ball from the lineout where the combination of hooker Adrian Derrick and flanker Neil Loy was working well together and from this source of possession the home side went on to move the ball out wide and secure their first points of the game with a Luke Spencer try just before the break, which Paul Taylor converted to bring the score to 19-7 at half time.

Alcester’s Lewis Hatton arrived just before half time and this allowed one of the borrowed Claverdon players to return to his side, although they still outnumbered their hosts 15 to 14 on the field.

Hatton played a big role in his side’s defensive effort in the second half and regularly found touch and territory with his clearance kicks, which eased the pressure on his side time after time.

The hosts scored first in the second half through Jake Grainger, although Claverdon hit back to take what looked like an unassailable lead with a try from one of their props – his side’s fourth score of the game.

By now the Alcester chairman’s bionic knee needed recharging and, although he stayed on the field, the game moved to passive scrums which actually really helped the home side as for the first time in the game they were not under pressure on their own put-ins.

With time running out, quick thinking at a lineout by hooker Dexie Derrick found prop Anthony Cauvin at the front and he powered over in the corner to bring his side within a score and then virtually straight from the restart Spencer scored his second try to level the score.

However, there was still time for a further twist. With the last play of the game under way, Claverdon gave away two needless penalties, the second one in front of their posts and within kicking range for scrum half Taylor who coolly slotted over the winning kick to secure an unlikely win for his side.

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