DESPITE living off the minority is possession, Lichfield were too good for Paviors as they ran out 34-14 winners.
The game was not a classic and the overall performance from the city side would be best described as efficient and effective, but certainly not effervescent.
The home defence was much improved on the Matlock game and it needed to be, given that Paviors hogged the ball for long periods and recycled it well, but could not go anywhere meaningful too often.
Lichfield led 17-0 at half time with Chad Southam, Rory Davis and Kieran Reynolds, on his 100th league appearance, all scoring their third try of the season.
Southam looked to be heading into choppy waters until he chipped ahead and won the race to the touch down, while Davis was driven over by the forwards from a line out and Rich Burton’s no look pass fed his captain an easy score. Henry Nevitt converted the last one to get him onto the scoring chart for his side.
Paviors started the second period better and were soon exploiting a lost ball by the home side just outside their 22, driving ever closer to the line through their forwards before Richard Hutchinson could dive over a ruck to score, with George Billam converting.
It did not take long for the city side to strike back, however. From a five metre scrum, Burton went blind and Sam Benson proved too strong to be stopped.
The lead was extended by Paul Maxwell-Keys stepping inside a scrambling defence, with Kai Lucas-Dumolo converting to take him past 100 points for the campaign to really make the game safe.
Paviors gamely fought on and when they made headway through the middle off first phase possession, scrum half Ben Taylor exploited a gap to score wide out, to which Billam added the extras.
More pressure followed on the visitors’ line and a wild and misdirected clearance allowed Lucas-Dumolo to scamper home for the final try.
