CLAVERDON RFC were beaten 33-14 at Tenbury as the Lions suffered a second straight defeat to all but end their hopes of achieving a top-half finish.
Hilton Garner-Jones scored an early try to put Claverdon ahead before Josh Evans crossed in the second half as James Williams kicked two conversions at Worcester Road.
The result means Claverdon sit seventh in the Counties 2 Midlands West (South) table, nine points behind Bromyard with three games left to play.
And Claverdon made a strong start as Ethan Houghton had a try disallowed before Garner-Jones used his pace to step past a Tenbury defender and score following a scrum in the Tenbury 22 as Williams converted.
However, Claverdon’s celebrations were short-lived as Tenbury bulldozed their way to the line and responded with a try of their own.
The Lions struggled to stop Tenbury’s big ball carriers all afternoon and were relieved to hear the half time whistle which allowed Claverdon to regroup and refocus.
And the visitors scrummed well after the break as Kyle Saliss and Chris Glover impressed before Evans picked and ran an excellent line to score Claverdon’s second try with Williams again adding the extras.
However, Tenbury showed their class to secure the points whilst both teams finished the game with 14 players as frustrations boiled over.
Claverdon are next in action away at Old Wheatleyans on Saturday, March 4 with kick-off at 2.15pm at Norman Place Road.
