Cambridge Exiles 24-47 Fakenham
With only one team having won more away games in this league, Fakenham were going to be tough opponents. However, the Exiles knew they could compete after the away match where we had gone with a weakened side. Hoping for a strong side we welcomed back Jacob and Brennan after long recoveries from injury - over twelve months in Jacob’s case.
The match started well balanced in both defence and attack, however after just five minutes we lost James CB with a badly sprained ankle and the Exiles heads went down and so they just watched Fakenham walk in three tries in the next fifteen minutes, the score rising to 0-21. To be fair, Fakenham weren’t a bad side. They had strong runners - particularly the inside centre and right wing (a ringer, as Banksie knew him!) plus their hooker though short and stocky, was very nippy and hard to tackle.
It looked likely to be a cricket score, but after twenty minutes the Exiles woke up, and a good passing movement to the right started by Banksie to Jules got to Max and he scored, and they realised it was game on. Scoring another try before half time from a characteristically swerving run from Mark using his great footwork and pace and Fakenham were really rattled. Max converted both tries brilliantly against the wind from wide out so it was 14-21 at half time.
From then to the end the Exiles defended well and attacked consistently. The forwards’ handling was consistently dodgy but there seemed to be confusion from backs and forwards on the system to be run. The Exiles game plan is based on spreading the ball wide, which means longer passes, but while this gives greater reward when it works, it also carries greater risk as it needs more accurate passing and also gives more time for the defence to come up, especially given that most sides play the offside line since referees have no assistance from the touchline at this level. Something to work out at training next week
Back to the game, the Exiles continued to compete. A penalty to us 17-21, an exchange of converted tries, 24-28 and Alex (touch judge at the time) said that Fakenham were really worried behind the posts.
Then with just a few minutes Fakenham got another, from a driving maul which the Exiles almost defended. If we had got that score - a not unlikely possibility - rather than them I think the Exiles would have won. Although almost in reach of a losing bonus point, with the score at 24-33, Fakenham confidence went up and the Exiles went down so Fakenham got another score as the Exiles tired.
Finally Fakenham scored a really good try, without doubt a good score at any level, but this made the result a bit too lobsided at 24-47.
The last hour the Exiles lost 24-26, which was a very fair reflection of that period of the game: it was the first twenty minutes that killed the Exiles!
Scorers
Tries: Max 2, Mark
Conversions: Max 3
Penalty: Max
Team
Alex Howell, Simon Banks, Brennan Logan, Julian Mannion, Cameron Prior, Yvan Bollet-Quivogne, James Campos Bell, Jamari Dowdie Wright, James Robinson, Mark Leckie, Goran Kellett, Jimmy McNicholl, Max Burton, Adam Griffiths, Jacob Weightman
Replacements: Elie Hammou, Dick Wallin
