Watford Observer
Hat-trick hero Clewley helps Rickmansworth School regain Chess Cup
Captain Dom Clewley led from the front as Rickmansworth School beat St Joan of Arc 25-21 in dramatic fashion to regain the Chess Cup.
Wednesday saw the ninth annual rugby match between the two schools, with St Joan of Arc going into the clash as defending champions after their 12-10 win 12 months ago to claim the trophy for a fourth time since the inaugural contest in 2006.
Rickmansworth started positively, scoring an early penalty and try to take 10-0 lead.
Rickmansworth’s pressure continued, with Clewley scoring his first of three tries, to make the score 15-0.
Not deterred, St Joan of Arc came roaring back from the kick off. A quickly-taken penalty saw Joan of Arc dart in under the posts to reduce the deficit to 15-7.
With half-time close though, their opponents scored a slightly fortuitous try to make the score 20-7 at the interval.
Two converted tries in the second half saw a turnaround in momentum and on the scoreboard, with Joan of Arc leading 21-20.
But in one final twist, Rickmansworth retook the lead late on with Clewley completing his hat-trick to secure a 25-21 win.
Clewley was rightly named man-of-the-match for Rickmansworth, with Conor Hewitt-Coleman picking up the same accolade for Joan of Arc.
Rickmansworth’s coach Sam Perry said afterwards: “The Chess Cup is such a fantastic event for both schools, demonstrated by the amount of supporters here today. Today’s game was of a superb standard and credit to both teams.”
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