Cambridge able to deal with Caldy’s huff and puff

By JOHN LYON

Caldy …………….. 21pts

Tries: Hearn 5, Wynn 77

Conversions: Curtis 77

Penalties: Curtis 23, 30, 52

Cambridge ……26pts

Tries: Sylvester 34, Cardew 39, Brownlee 66 Conversion: Grimoldby 40

Penalties: Grimoldby 8, 32, 40

THIS was an attritional game by two sides playing catch up after both suffered bruising defeats in the first round of the Championship.

After a close opening half an hour Cambridge stretched clear with two tries before half-time and another midway through the second half. Caldy fought hard and grabbed a late second try but Cambridge were deserved winners.

Cambridge head coach Richie Williams acknowledged the tightness of the contest. “This is my fifth visit to Caldy and I’m pleased to have eventually picked up a win,” he said. “We needed it.”

Caldy started brightly with an early Ollie Hearn try from a driven maul. Louis Grimoldby replied with a penalty which was countered by Caldy through a brace of kicks by Tom Curtis. Cambridge were dominating territory and possession but were let down by mistakes, and Caldy’s excellent scramble defence kept the home side ahead until two quick tries fired the Blood and Sand in front. The first by the excellent Kayde Sylvester was swiftly followed by a second through flanker Cardew. A searing break by Ruaridh Dawson from the base of a scrum on the Caldy 10 metre line caught the Ravers napping and the supporting Cardew was able to stroll over to provide the easiest of conversions for Grimoldby. The visitors went into the sheds with a seven-point lead at 11-18.

Caldy came out with renewed purpose but despite going close on a couple of occasions it was agricultural rugby.

Curtis closed the gap to with another penalty but Caldy were still reliant on huff and puff rather than flair and ability. Another penalty from Grimoldby and a Benjamin Brownlee try from a driving maul gave the visitors a deserved 12-point cushion with only 15 minutes of a turgid contest to see out.

On 66 minutes the introduction of the Ravers’ Welsh ‘jack in the box’ Lewis Barker changed all of that. For the last 10 minutes the home supporters enjoyed some free flowing rugby orchestrated by Barker. Ollie Wynn picked up his second try in as many games and Caldy were pushing for the win but were eventually beaten by the clock.

Caldy’s DoR Gareth Davies was succinct in his appraisal. “We are not at the standard we should be at. We must improve and quickly.”