Sat 14 Jan 2023
Alcester 58 - 0 Claverdon
Alcester continued their dominant path on Saturday as they kept a clean sheet against Claverdon and ran in ten unanswered tries.
The showcase of true skill and teamwork was led by the impressive display from both Jack Green and Dwayne Cruickshank who celebrated hat trick performances.
The match began with a moment of silence to pay respects to David Duckham, a former England international and Vice President of Alcester, who sadly passed away earlier in the week.
The home side made hard work of it early on as they failed to exploit the overlap, but Cruickshank was able to dive over for his first try of the afternoon and putting Alcester ahead, 5-0.
Josh O'Connor raced towards the line and looked to be in as the large crowd, including the Chairman and his lunch guests, prematurely cheered but he was tackled just short of the whitewash but his brother Jack Green was able to finish the job and score the side's second try.
Moments after the restart, Green scored again before the conversion was charged down illegally but the ref disregarded complaints from the players and the restart ensued.
Finally, O'Connor was rewarded with a try of his own as he added Alcester's bonus point and bringing the score to 22-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Cruickshank and Green continued to dominate, with Cruickshank scoring his second try and Green completing his hat trick. Other tries came from Mark Burrell, Ben Hope and Ant Cauvin, whilst Claverdon received a further blow to their losing performance with two yellow cards during the match.
In the final minutes of the game, Hope was yellow carded but man-of-the-match Cruickshank ended the game on a high as he completed his hat trick. A stark contrast to the reverse fixture earlier in the season when Alcester hung on to win by just a point.
Meanwhile, Claverdon 2s had a big win in the second team fixture, putting a similar scoreline passed Alcester seconds, as their first team counterparts lost by, helping to put a positive spin on the club's playing weekend.
Next week, Alcester face their biggest battle of the season as they take on second place Manor Park who have had an equally strong journey through the season so far. Only one point separates the sides at the top of the table and their previous meeting was a close affair, so Alcester expect a tough clash when they travel to Heath End Road.
