Cambridge Exiles 26-10 Cottenham Renegades
The Exiles welcomed Cottenham Renegades to Volac Park on a day when the 1st XV were hosting league leaders Rosslyn Park, and the Exiles were to be in full social mode after the final whistle. The full squad was therefore around to give the lads a healthy dose of support - and attempt to drown out the pounding of the Renegades drum…
Within minutes it was clear that the scrummaging deficiencies of the previous week had not yet been entirely excised. And this set the pattern of the game for the first half. Renegades dominated the scrum - and hence, given the number of knock ons, had majority possession - while the Exiles stout defence led by some fearsomely robust tackling from Josh ably supported by Joe, kept them more or less at bay. In the line out, Cambridge were the stronger, with Renegades limited by having ex-Exiles player Ryan Cox as their only jumper, and also were far more organised in the breakdown. As such, when they got the ball they always looked threatening.
And so, the first score went to Cambridge with a good break through several consecutive breakdowns in the middle of the field controlled by the barking orders of Stef at scrum half meaning that in the end, the Renegades defence parted and Young Alex, recovering from his late night birthday party, stepped through to score under the posts. Max made the conversion to give the Exiles a 7-0 lead.
A series of scrums won by Renegades as the Exiles pack retreated at a fearsome pace, gave them good territory and the Exiles began to give penalties away under pressure. Eventually, the pressure told and the Renegades scrum half sniped from the base of the five metre scrum, sold a dummy and went over for a converted try: 7-7.
The pattern continued: good control of the breakdown took the Exiles upfield, Stan ran a superb line and Ryan following up like any good open side, took the ball and crashed through to score under the posts again. Max’s conversion made it 14-7. But the Exiles were giving away penalties too and Renegades took advantage from the 22 straight ahead to slot one and take the score to 14-10.
Despite the Renegades looking the better team with the ball, the Exiles backs were nothing if not sharp and when Maxim gathered a long kick some slick passing from him, Josh and Joe gave the ball to Max on the wing, who evaded three tackles and went over in the left corner from 40 metres out. An excellent score underlining how much Max’s running confidence has improved during the season. His kick from the touchline into the stiff breeze was dead on line, but failed to reach the crossbar. 19-10.
The Renegades failed to learn that kicking to the Exiles back three was not a good move, as Young Alex, Maxim and Max had another really good game. This time, a shorter kick was fielded by Jacob, who had a solid game at second five eight, and initiated another overlap with a perfectly timed pass for Max, again from 40m out, again evading the attempted tackles flying in and this time, able to run under the posts to set up his own conversion for 26-10, which the Exiles took into half time.
As the second half started, the wind and rain drove in, and the game became more fractious. Stef was clearly being targeted by the Renegades back row, and Stef was targeting them with his words. Tempers threatened to boil over on both sides and the game descended into a vicious scrap punctuated by penalties against the Exiles for offences at the breakdown and an immense effort from the Renegades pack to destroy the Cambridge scrum. Injuries to Marcus, who had lead many a drive and Stan whose strong running Renegades found difficult to bring down meant replacements in the scrum with Archie at hooker and Elie at tight head stopping the Renegades juggernaut at last.
Chabs at eight was now able to pick and go from a more stable scrum and he became even more effective as a runner, ably supported by Ryan and Harry. Jules and Dec had more difficulty getting into the game and were replaced by Mike and Will, while Tall Guy Jake replaced Ryan on the flank after a good shift. This combination strengthened the Exiles line out so Renegades won little ball thereafter. With Coops replacing Maxim on the wing, then Nick replacing Young Alex at full back, the Exiles back line still looked strong, but the Renegades tackling at last started to come good, holding out on several good attempts by the Cambridge backs in particular.
At last, tempers were lost and a late tackle on Stef by the Renegades eight, in a blind rage was rewarded by a series of haymakers from both sides, few of which landed and none with any real force. The referee, following play was unable to see what had gone on in the melee and therefore gave both captains a stern talking to, but the battling continued, Joe suffering cuts to the head requiring stitching, so Young Alex came back on as a blood replacement. Cambridge continued to attack the Renegades line, until at last Nick was tackled into touch agonising inches from the line.
So, no score in the second half, and not a pretty game to watch - “one for the purists” you might say - but the Exiles had done enough to secure a second bonus point win over their nearest challengers. This also meant that Renegades slipped a place to third, with Shelford taking a home walkover moving up to second. A league decider at Davey Field beckons on 15th January.
Positives from the day were that the 1st XV won a great match against Rosslyn Park, but lost the social battle against the Exiles in the karaoke later in the evening.
Scorers
Tries: Young Alex, Ryan, Max 2
Conversions: Max 3
Team
Stan Meadhurst, Marcus Lankford, David Cadwalladr, Julian Mannion, Declan Sully, Harry Jones, Ryan Curtis, Alex Chabala, Stef Liebenberg, Jacob Weightman, Max Burton, Josh Brown, Joe Johnson, Maxim Gleeson, Alex Howard
Replacements: Archie Davison, Elie Hammou, Michael Robson, Will Ramply, Jake Prier, Nick Apps, Sean Cooper
