CLAVERDON RFC suffered a 31-21 defeat against high-flying Old Wheatleyans in their final away game of the season.
The Lions completed a first-half comeback thanks to tries from Laurent Lightfoot, Hilton Garner-Jones and George Hazard only for Old Wheatleyans to reclaim the lead and take the points at Norman Place Road.
And the result means Claverdon sit seventh in the Counties 2 Midlands West (South) table with two matches left to play.
Old Wheatleyans made a strong start and raced into a 14-point lead after just 10 minutes courtesy of two converted tries as Claverdon were made to pay for a missed tackle and a dropped ball.
However, Claverdon pounced on a failed clearance attempt to score their first points of the game as Lightfoot showcased his blistering pace to chase and collect Garner-Jones’s kick through after good work from George Redwood as James Williams kicked the conversion.
And the visitors drew level soon after as another clever kick, this time from Williams, forced a fumble in the Old Wheatleyans backline which allowed Garner-Jones to scoop up the ball and touch down as the former added the extras.
The comeback was complete when Hazard bulldozed his way over the line after Claverdon won a penalty close to the Old Wheatleyans line as Williams again kicked the conversion.
However, Claverdon’s celebrations were short-lived as Old Wheatleyans scored two tries in quick succession to take a three-point lead into the break.
And after the Lions had a player sent to the sin bin in the second half, Old Wheatleyans made the most of the man advantage to seal the win with a converted try.
Claverdon are next in action at home to Pinley on Saturday, March 11 with kick-off at 2.15pm at Ossetts Hole Lane.
