Sawston Adventure defeats Cambridge
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27th March 2010
Sawston V Cambridge 3’s (League)
Despite rumours and reports of a draw (Green King website), Sawston came out on top in a very close game against the formidable and multi-faceted Adventurers from Cambridge on Saturday.
I suspect that the start of the match was as fast paced as any game seen in this league for some time. Both teams were quick out of the blocks and tried to use the width of the pitch to make the first breakthrough. So much so Liam, a relative new comer to the team, after only 5 mins gasped, “Is it always this quick? It’s like London 1”. I just want to point out at this stage, in case we are accused of fielding ringers, Liam has no experience of London 1 and was gasping because he has only played a total of 4 games all year. However his point was valid and it is all the more pleasing to report that Sawston came out on top in this period. Strong direct running, fantastic support play and sustained pressure earned the home side a 3-0 lead inside 5 minutes, a lead that they never gave up.
After 15 minutes of sustained pressure, Wilf bagged the first try for the home team in what must be one of his best ever games for Sawston. In typical hooker fashion his ferret like ball carrying around the fringes was gaining valuable yards but it was his work out-wide that provided the try. An excellent finish from 15 yards, duly converted provided the deserved 10-0 lead.
If the initial penalty wasn’t enough to awake the sleeping giants then the try certainly was. In a sudden turnaround, Cambridge began to dominate possession and apply pressure. Fortunately for Sawston, Cambridge indiscipline brought many of their attacks to a premature end. The referee got more and more understandably annoyed by the amount of back chat from the opposition. In the end he sent their centre to the bin, in my opinion completely justifiably. If all referees, in all sports yellow carded players for angry appeals and complaints then the world would surely be a better place.
Anyway huge credit goes to Cambridge as only having 14 men did nothing to slow down their progress. Their commitment in the forwards and speed and creativity of their young backs made for a tough middle third of the game for the home team. Specifically the away team’s 6 and 8 were fantastic all afternoon. They never took a backwards step and lead the rest of their team magnificently. With such talented young players as one of the wingers and the scrum half, their back were a handful too. Early in the second half they turned this possession into points with a strong drive from the previously binned number 13. 10-7. Game on.
Throughout the game I was impressed by the sheer quantity of tackles made by Sawston’s back row. They were easy to spot as along with Tim, they were all wearing scrum hats – except for Rock, but as a 6’5” Fijian he’s fairly easy to spot. As Cambridge constantly probed the fringes Sawston forwards and some backs too (occasionally) just kept bringing them down. As a result the balance in the match started to swing again. Another penalty from Sawston provided a bit of breathing space but an almost instant reply from the visitors set up a tense finish.
13-10.
With fitness on their side Sawston finished the stronger team for the second week in a row. The winning move came from turnover ball in Sawston’s half and a superb break from Sol who was at his elusive best all game. Eventually caught by the equally lively opposition winger, excellent support from Ash and then Tom resulted in the final try of the game. Tom was superb throughout in his first game at 10 for the firsts and he thoroughly deserved his try. Normally seen on the flank or at centre as the second team captain, he was a last minute inclusion at 10. With Jay and Frenchie missing he more than filled their boots with some fantastic distribution, tackling and game management. He brought the players around him into the game well including H who was also at his gain-line breaking best.
Cambridge have enjoyed some good results recently, especially at home and with this team it is easy to see why. They have an excellent balance between experienced, physical forwards and youthful, pacey backs that makes them incredibly difficult to break down in attack and hard to stop in defence. Thanks to them for contributing to what was widely acknowledged as an excellent game of rugby by all who attended.
Final Score 20-10
Team: Dan O, Callum, Sol, H, Ash, Tom G, Nick, Pete, Wilf, Beasty, Tim, Nudger, Liam, Dan F, Robin.
Subs: Mark for Callum. Rock for Robin
Tries: Wilf, Tom G
Pens: Dan O 2
Cons: Dan O 2
Sawston Star Man
As James said in the post match debrief, there were no man of the matches in this game as everyone played well from 1 to 15. The progress of the team this year has been awesome, both initially and then again recently when performances have stepped up yet another notch. Ahead of the game away in Barcelona and a cup final against Bishops Stortford only one team have beaten us all year and this is definitely something to be confident about!
The small print
My new more politically correct approach means there is no need for small print anymore, except perhaps to say that my account of the match is only as good as my memory of it. Given that all games are generally followed by heavy drinking I apologise for any inaccuracies in my recollection.
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