Jack Green and Dwayne Cruickshank bag hat-tricks in Alcester's ten-try demolition of Claverdon
Alcester 58-0 Claverdon
Counties Two Midlands West South
ALCESTER blew away Claverdon in a ten-try blitz to maintain their place at the top of the table.
The showcase of skill and teamwork was led by the impressive displays from both Jack Green and Dwayne Cruickshank who celebrated hat-trick performances.
It was a stark contrast to the reverse fixture earlier in the season when the Red and Blacks hung on to win by just a point.
The match began with a moment of silence to pay respects to David Duckham, a former England international and vice-president of Alcester, who died earlier in the week.
Alcester 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 to make it 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.
However, Jack Green was able to finish the job off and score his side’s second try.
Moments after the restart Green scored again before the conversion was charged down illegally but the referee disregarded complaints from the players and the restart ensued.
O’Connor was finally rewarded with a try of his own as he added Alcester’s bonus point to bring the score to 22-0 at half-time.
In the second half, Cruickshank scored his second try and Green completed his hat trick.
Other tries came from Mark Burrell, Ben Hope and Ant Cauvin, while Claverdon received a further blow to their losing performance with two yellow cards during the match.
In the final minutes Hope was yellow-carded but man-of-the-match Cruickshank ended the game on a high as he completed his hat-trick.
The Kings Coughton men face their biggest battle of the season on Saturday as they make the trip to second-placed Manor Park.
Only one point separates the two sides and with the previous meeting ended in a 34-31 success for the Red and Blacks, another close encounter is in the offing at Heath End Road.
Meanwhile, Claverdon will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they welcome Bromyard to Ossetts Hole Lane on Saturday.
