Sat 13 Nov 2021, 14:00
Freak injuries incurred in Thursday night's training ruled out both George Bretag Norris and Kwaku Asiendu, so Keiran Frost came back into the squad to start, Joe Green came off the bench and Matt Hema, nursing a heavily strapped elbow, was on the bench.
Cambridge could have scored within a minute, but for a marginal call on a forward pass. We had another opportunity within a couple of minutes, but the ref objected to the fact Jake Garside touched the ball to his foot rather than actually kicking it - although over on the far pitch in the Exiles match, Stef did exactly the same and got away with it. So we had to wait until the thirteenth minute to open the scoring, the try coming from Ben Brownlie controlling a driving maul after we kicked a penalty to the corner.
Te visitors then had a period of sustained pressure, crossing our line three times only to be held up, before actually scoring .
Our response was almost immediate, Jake Garside making up for the earlier mistake by crossing for our second try and then Ben getting his second from another maul. Half-time came with Cambridge 21-7 up.
Ben got a third shortly after half-time after another penalty kick to touch set up another attacking line-out. His fourth, and our fifth, came from an outrageous break and chip by Jake Garside which Tonbridge were forced to clear into touch. We set up the drive and again Ben dotted down. Job done Ben and Harry Morley were replaced in order to ensure they remained fit for future encounters, while in the backs, Jake was replaced by Darryl Veenendaal and Mat Hema replaced Marc Koetcky.
The sixth try came from a break by Andrew Henderson feeding Will Wand, who went over in the corner. Lawrence having kicked the first five was not able to convert this one. The sixth was a poacher's effort by Darryl, we won another line-out in their 22, Lewis Corey's throw was adjudged not straight, but the pack disrupted the resulting Tonbridge scrum and Darryl pounced on a loose ball and darted over in the corner. Again, Lawrence's kick went wide.
Tonbridge were able to score a consolation try, well taken with the combination of quick ball and a strong running line finding a crack in our defence, but it was all too late. A 45-14 win, seven tries and five league points.
While we were always in control, it never really felt like we hit top gear, though that might have something to do with the last-minute changes. The team is beginning to believe in itself, one has the feeling there is more to come.
The scoreline did Tonbridge no favours, they had several scoring opportunities but were unable to finish them off, we held them up over the line three times.
We must thank the Tonbridge players and supporters. Like us, they are a community club trying to play at the highest level they can, while remaining a club for all. They have found the step up to level 3 hard, as so many clubs - including us - have done in the past, but they will grow into this level. A large Tonbridge travelling party, and a few Bury supporters, plus the International rugby, gave the club a vibrant atmosphere after the match. It was also nice to bump into Rowland Winter - the championship had the week off, so Coventry were without a game. Unfortunately, he was not able to provide any more insight into the Championship plans, so we still do not know how many promotion places will be available at the end of the season.
Final Score
Cambridge 45 - 14 Tonbridge Juddians
Scorers
Tries: Browlie (4), Garside, Wand, Veenendaal
Conversions: Rayner(5)
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.
