After their opening home match was canceled due to a forfeit, the Clayton RFC Bootleggers were eager to get their league season underway against Johnson City who made their first-ever trip to Clayton. The Bootleggers were ready to show the results of several weeks of preparation.
The action was fast and furious as the home side struck early. Captain Eric Hile opened the scoring in the 5th minute with a breakaway try, converted by Ben Roach for a 7–0 lead. Minutes later, Eli Leeworthy powered over from close range after a Johnson City penalty, with Roach again adding the extras.
Roach then crossed for a try of his own before converting it, extending the lead to 21–0. Soon after, Chris Parker broke tackles off of a 22-dropout to score another. On the stroke of halftime, debutant Rupert Kilburn dotted down, giving Clayton a commanding 35–0 advantage at the break.
The Bootleggers continued their momentum in the second half. Leeworthy added his second try of the day with a powerful midfield run. Johnson City responded with their only score of the match, narrowing the deficit to 42–5, but Clayton answered immediately with Roach’s second try of the day.
From there, the floodgates opened. In the final 20 minutes, Clayton ran in five more tries: a brace from Joe Gomes, one from Quincy Poe on his birthday, a second from Hile, and a late sideline breakaway by Tron Newsome.
The victory was a total team effort with the forward pack providing a solid platform for the backs to execute. Clayton RFC coaches were also able to test the depth of the squad with every player on the roster contributing solid minutes towards the big win.
Clayton RFC 82 – Johnson City 5
“I think we came together as a team and we won as a unit and not individual effort,” said Captain Eric Hile. “We’ve been working hard at practice to get our set pieces down, and we were able to execute the plan to walk away with an outstanding win.”
“Defense did have a few breakdowns, but we didn’t lose sight of our overall goals and we were able to reset to get back to our style of rugby,” Hile added. “I couldn’t be any happier as a captain. We’re going to keep up this intensity and style of play to bring home a championship. Shout out to Johnson City for making the drive—it’s always a pleasure to share the pitch with the boys from Tennessee.”
Birthday boy, Quincy Poe added, ” I’m so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come. All of us have put in an incredible amount of work and it really paid off today.”
Joe Gomes – Entering his third season with the club, Gomes has bounced around multiple positions. He may have found a home home on the wing scoring two tries, making multiple line breaks, and providing strong defensive work.
Starting XV:
D. Parker, D. Stillwell, E. Leeworthy, T. Hardy, T. Newsome, C. Koewler, C. Walters, C. Copp, W. Webster, R. Kilburn, C. Pendergraph, E. Hile (Captain), B. Roach, J. Gomes, A. Chauffey
Reserves:
P. Hughes, B. Culkin, D. Oliphant, C. Parker, M. King, P. Nalley, C. Desiata, Q. Poe, C. Greene, S. Prensky
The Bootleggers are back to training this week. They return to play in two weeks with a road trip to face Gaston County RFC in an early-season Carolinas Rugby Union D4 showdown. Clayton RFC’s men’s side practices every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30-8pm at the Johnston County Rugby Park. Players of all experience levels are welcome to join at any point in the season.
