A very cold January day saw the G&Ts take on the cup holders Guildford in our first foray into the vet’s cup. With Guildford being a league above the G&T’s it was always going to a tough day at the office, and by the looks of their the warm up it appeared Guildford felt they were in for an easy Saturday afternoon.

Within minutes of the kick off it became clear that this would not be the case. A much rejigged Cambo pack making yards in the loose and getting the nudge on in the first scrum encounters.

Some massive hits were coming in around the park from the Black & Ambers – The back row of Holland , Nick Lucas and Cheapshot Chairman Fleming were imposing themselves in contact, whilst the Guildford centre pairing, who obviously fancied themselves a bit, were hitting a brick wall in Mark Baker and Tony bones.

The referee, who clearly liked the sound of his whistle and his own shouty voice, was making some baffling decisions and several mysterious penalties later, Guildford made a rare foray into the Cambo 22. Such was their surprise at the battle Cambo were giving them, they elected for a shot at the posts and duly took a 3 point lead.

Undeterred and bolstered by their good start, Cambo started to play the better rugby, with several flowing moves pushing them deep into the 22. After some great recycling by the forwards, the call was moved swiftly left for Dave ‘Rusty’ Rustill to sprint clear and go around under the sticks for Cambos opening score – Andy Dowan duly added the extras.

Starting to shake off their shellshock, Guildford showed why they are a league above by putting together several phases and pinging several penalties to the corner, the final of which they turned into an unconverted try via a rolling maul.

The second half started as tightly as the first with both sides attempting to gain the upper hand via heavy forward rumbles and some incisive backs moves. With injuries taking their toll and several substitutions later, Camberley started to tire and Guildford went for the kill. Two quick tries through a tired Cambo defence turned the tide of the tie.

True to Ranger form, and never defeated, Cambo Pressed on. Guildford mysteriously ignoring the oldest rule in the book of ‘Play to the whistle’ to allow Graeme Fleming to break away, putting Robbie Nicholas over to reduce the deficit.
Sadly, the gap was to great and the match ended 20 – 12 to the hosts. The game however did illustrate that Camberley G&T’s would be highly competitive in the top league and although defeated, Cambo can take much heart from a great performance.

With the Battersea match conceded we press on to the next fixture against OC’s

Camberley Rugby Football Club

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