Sat 9 Oct 2021, 15:00
Cambridge ran out in the sun wearing their new away kit, officially Cambridge Blue but definitely the green version favoured by the rowers rather than the sky blue on the rugby shirt. While the conditions were perfect for an open game, this was a case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. Two firm defences meant much of the game played in the midfield and nobody found space to run.
Cambridge had a lot of first half pressure, but either Blackheath's defence forced mistakes or we gave away a soft penalty, and we were not able to cross the whitewash. Blackheath were awarded two kickable penalties to take a 6-0 lead after 20 minutes. Our pressure set up a line out, but their pressure prevented us setting up a drive, so we spun the ball and after a number of phases, a cross kick found Kwaku on the far wing who had the power to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but we were back within a point. Unfortunately, with the clock well past 40, we gave up a series of penalties to give the hosts field position and another kickable penalty, so we went in 9-5 down.
The second half was much like the first, but Blackheath resorted to high up and under kicks to test our defences, which were all dealt with well, mainly by Henderson or Rayner. A number of club penalties let us move up the field, and the Blackheath prop saw yellow after repeated collapsed mauls. This set up a driving maul and the pack barged over and of course Ben Brownlie dotted down, with Lawrence adding the extras to give us the lead after 64 minutes. With Club down to 14, we soon won another penalty - which we slotted to give us a 15-9 lead. A few minutes later we turned down the opportunity for three more points, choosing to go to the corner, but could not set up the drive, and although Club kept us out, we were able to play the final minutes in the host's twenty-two.
It was a physical affair, and the physios were regularly on the pitch patching up our players, especially Gareth who went down hard and needed more strapping on his knee but somehow stayed on. There were 80 minute effort for all the front five, though Henry Pack did come on for the last couple of minutes to replace Billy Walker. Scott Lloyd and Kwaku both limped off. Hopefully, they will all recover after a few days rest.
The victory at Well Hall might not be pretty, but at no point in the 80 minutes was the Cambridge line under any real pressure. And certainly outside the fence, at no point was the result in doubt. Even when we were 6-0 and 9-5 down, it felt that a Cambridge try would come. Sometimes you have to play the game that works to beat the opposition on the day.
Meanwhile, on the back pitch, the Wanderers, who had borrowed a few Exiles to ensure they travelled with more than a bare fifteen, took on a strong club side, which featured former Blood and Sand play Jake Henderson along with a number of players with National 1 experience. The difference in strength meant it was one way traffic for much of the game - I believe it was 67-10. Unfortunately, with the size of our squad, and the number of injuries, this is the where the Wanderers are. However, despite the score, the players were glad to be put and playing rugby and looking forward to more fixtures.
Final Score
Blackheath 9 - 15 Cambridge
Scorers
Tries Asiedu, Brownlie
Conversion Rayner
Penalty Rayner
Please enter your page detail here. This can be HTML or text. To edit click the first menu icon on the small HTML menu that appears when you click on this text. Please use the elements on the right if you wish to construct a richer page content with headers, images and layout grids.
