Sat 9 Dec 2023
After the highs of seeing off Cinderford last week Longlevens huffed and puffed their way to a bonus point win, never really getting out of second gear and lacking the cutting edge they are normally accustomed to.
The set piece as very dominant in this game and from a scrum on the 22 the pack pushed Clifton back at speed, this enabled Jed Holman-Jones to pick up at 8 and make good yards blind. The ball was then worked open for two phases which allowed the blind side to become flooded with Longlvens players that Clifton couldn’t cover. Joe Weatherley was fed the ball to squeeze in at the corner after five minutes, 5-0.
The Griffins looked and felt dominant but they allowed Clifton in for a soft try two minutes later when their 10 dummied his way through a hole, making the score 5-7. Longlevens then utilised their strong set piece and scored another try through a text book catch and drive, finished by Steve Phillips. 10-7.
The Clifton 10 had a very good boot and was using it well to gain territory for the wanderers. He then used his boot to nail six points through a long range penalty and a well struck drop goal, bring the score to 10-13. The Griffins then started to get a strangle hold on the game and finished the half strongly by scoring three tries. The first came from another strong scrum centre field and another good 8 pick, this time from Phillips. He made good yards before passing right. The ball was then moved back left through good short phases before being spun wide left for Tom Evans to scorch in, 15-13
The next came from yet another scrum giving a good platform, this time the ball was hit up at 12 from Tom Griffiths before Phillips picked at the resulting ruck to go over, 22-13. The final score of the half was a bit more free flowing with the ball being spun left from their own half. Evans made 50 yards down the wing and popped inside to Jack Beck to go in, making the half time score 27-13.
It wasn’t the most convincing of first half performances and unfortunately the second half didn’t really get going. The Griffins only managed to get the solitary score, turning the ball over in midfield with Phillips and Griffiths combining well to send Griffiths in from the 22. They also allowed Clifton to score an interception soon after meaning the final score ended up being 34-17.
The team were disappointed with the performance and know they should have scored more, although as a cliché says ‘good teams win even when they play badly’ and that was very true on Saturday. Longlevens now sit top of the league due to Nailsea not playing at Cinderford, so not a bad day’s work in the end.
There is now one more game before Christmas with Clevedon coming to Longford Lane next week, and the draw for the Papa Johns cup taking place this Wednesday.
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