ROBBIE Jordan’s pushover try proved the difference in a tight tussle as he sent Clee Hill into the Midlands Junior Vase final – and two steps from Twickenham – with a 10-3 victory over Tenbury.

All of the points came in the opening half-hour of a gruelling encounter played on a surface which the Clee Hill groundsman had worked very hard on to make playable.

Tenbury won last year’s semi-final between the two sides 3-0 and, after Hayden Edwards missed an early penalty for Clee Hill, Zac Thompson landed his kick to put the visitors ahead by the same score.

Unlike last year, however, Tenbury were unable to hold on to the slim advantage and a lengthy spell of Clee Hill pressure culminated in Jordan going over, with Edwards adding the conversion.

An Edwards penalty stretched the lead to 10-3 but there was no indication that was how the score would remain as each side enjoyed long periods camped on the other’s line either side of the break.

But both defences remained resolute and, crucially, Tenbury could not make their dominant spell count despite Clee Hill being temporarily reduced to 14 men by Matt Bowen’s sin-binning.

The visitors spent pretty much the first 20 minutes of the second half camped in Clee Hill’s 22 but just could not break the defensive door down.

They had chances but Callum Spires’ handling error close to the line prevented a try, while Thompson narrowly missed two penalties, one going just wide and the other falling slightly short.

Having weathered the pressure, Clee Hill regained a foothold in the game, which was mostly played out in midfield for the final stages as they gained revenge for their 2019 defeat.