Clifton miss out in the mud

We travelled to the 165 miles to Bishop Stortford hoping to bring to an end our disappointing run of away defeats dating back to the first Saturday in October. However it was not to be and the run now stretches to eight games.

When we arrived at the ground it was a sunny day but the playing surface was very heavy having had a league game played on it the previous week.

Back in last September the reverse fixture produced a thrilling contest played on the Close at Clifton College which we edged home by a couple of points. The conditions dictated this was never going to be a repeat of this encounter and they negated the cutting edge of our back division.

The game was one of attrition being contested between two tough defences combined with equally matched defences which dictated it would be a low-scoring affair with all the scoring coming in the opening half an hour.

The home side had the better of the early exchanges but when a home side player was turned over on the Clifton line the visitors with a constructive and powerful move took play to the other end of the pitch where they were awarded a penalty.

Prop Ellis Genge ran 20 metres to the mark and then quickly took the kick before diving over having plunged over for the remaining 10 metres. To score his first try for the club.

Fly half Charlie Foley added the extras but the home side quickly retaliated when Foley’s opposite number Olly Walker reduced the lead with a kick from in front of the posts.

Foley hah the chance to extend the lead with a further but his kick flew wide of the posts.

The home side came back into the game when they launched a driving maul to the line following a line out and it was illegally stopped by Joe Quinn who was sin binned . The home side elected to take advantage of the extra man and elected to take a scrum which they drove over the line with No 8 Steve Ball touched down for an unconverted try.

After 25 minutes home prop Will Roberts was also binned for an offence in front of the posts and Foley put us in front with a penalty to put us back in front.

The lead was short lived when winger Jono Child took play to the home line and the ball went through several phases before hooker Sam James touched down for an unconverted try.

This was the end of the scoring though pushed a penalty just wide of the posts just before the break.

After the break with conditions worsening it was difficult to play constructive rugby and the game was full of handling errors and defences dominated. Scoring chances were few and far apart. We had a number of drives from close range but it was difficult to progress on gluttonous pitch

The one consolation was that we travelled home with a losing bonus point and although losing did not drop a place in the table.