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Sat 10 Jan 2015
Cranleigh
1st XV
10
41
Cam into semis despite getting bogged down in Cranleigh
Roger Berry10 Jan 2015 - 20:48
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Cam win on a muddy pitch at Cranleigh sees them through to the semi final of the Surrey Shield.
The omens weren't brilliant for Cam when they arrived at Cranleigh to discover the first team pitch declared unplayable and the alternative pitches not much better - with both very wet in places taking at least a boot rather than the proverbial stud.
Cam started with the breeze and were soon pressing deep in the hosts 22 but a couple of penalties conceded at the breakdown saw play move into their half - a pattern which was unfortunately to be replicated throughout the game.
So with Cranleigh missing a shot at goal Cam won a turnover and a great run by centre Joe Wood took play to the Cranleigh line and following a couple of good scrums Tom Dunn slotted the first points of the afternoon with a straightforward penalty, although in these conditions nothing was that straightforward.
The game was still very scrappy with balls being dropped and penalties being conceded by the black and ambers with regular monotony with the result that several times in the first quarter good attacking positions soon became desperate defensive situations and on 20 mins Cranleigh evened up the score with a simple penalty. Cam were certainly not being helped by the conditions or the official who by this time had already recorded a 8-2 penalty count to the hosts.
However Cam were soon back in front when a great run from winger Phil Andrews saw him twist and turn before he dotted down on 28 mins for Tom Dunn to convert for a score of 3-10 and they extended their lead on 37 mins when a neat chip ahead by flanker Jono was carried over the line by Cranleigh and from the resulting 5m scrum #8 Josh Watson stormed over to score and again with Tom Dunn adding the extras this made the half time score 3-17.
The second half in fact did not really improve dramatically with Cam's attacks being halted by either a sloppy pass or almost as often the shrill whistle of the man in the middle however on 50 mins they managed to complete several phases in the red zone following another break by Phil Andrews and young hooker Greg Simmonds crashed over and with the conversion by Tom this put the black and ambers 3 scores ahead.
Again on 57 mins a similar pattern of play took place with several phases being played deep in the Cranleigh 22m and eventually gaps opened for Mac Duaibe, returning after breaking his arm early in the season, to cross with Tom again adding the extras.
The game remained very scrappy with Cam still attempting to move the ball wide on all occasions despite the very poor conditions underfoot plus the still very one sided penalty count all meaning that play took place in the black and ambers 22 far too frequently although without the hosts being able to cross the whitewash and Cam went further ahead when they were awarded a rare penalty on their 22m line. The quickly taken penalty by Ben Bowen saw play move to the home 22 and when Cam were awarded a second penalty they opted for the scrum and a couple of quick phases saw the Cranleigh defence left flat footed as Jono crossed for an unconverted try on 58 mins.
To their credit Cranleigh took play into the Cam 22 and were rewarded with a penalty try when their driving lineout was adjudged to have been brought down.
However this was the last time the hosts came close to scoring despite the repeated pleas of their winger whenever they were in the Cam half for an Alex Goode type chip for him to run on to even though the ball hadn't gone past his inside centre the entire game.
Deep into injury time Cam were still pressing and Jono crossed for his second and Cams final score to wrap things up at 41-10.
So the good news is clearly that with 9 wins on the bounce the team is doing most things right. The downside is that we are still not able to 'understand' some of the officials we meet and in closer games will not be able to sustain a similar penalty count against us and we also seem to take a long time to adjust our game plan to suit the opposition and the conditions.
Again this was a forwards day and they all put in a good shift with skipper Hill managing to hold up the opposition on several occasions to win the scrum put in and the back row, as last week, covering acres of the park. Ben Bowen had his usual lively game at 9 but it was not really a game for threequarters although they all did their jobs both in attack and defence.
Today we met a side with a solid pack of forwards who were looking for a scalp and, to their credit, they never gave up despite the energy sapping conditions with a performance belying their current league position.
Next weeks game should provide the opportunity for Cam to play the wider game they prefer as they will be playing on the Wellington College 1st team pitch as this has been selected by Old Wellingtonians as the game this season when they return to school.
So 2015 is good so far for the black and ambers and of course matching the Cherry and Whites who after their win on Friday are also 2-0 for the year to date.
Cam started with the breeze and were soon pressing deep in the hosts 22 but a couple of penalties conceded at the breakdown saw play move into their half - a pattern which was unfortunately to be replicated throughout the game.
So with Cranleigh missing a shot at goal Cam won a turnover and a great run by centre Joe Wood took play to the Cranleigh line and following a couple of good scrums Tom Dunn slotted the first points of the afternoon with a straightforward penalty, although in these conditions nothing was that straightforward.
The game was still very scrappy with balls being dropped and penalties being conceded by the black and ambers with regular monotony with the result that several times in the first quarter good attacking positions soon became desperate defensive situations and on 20 mins Cranleigh evened up the score with a simple penalty. Cam were certainly not being helped by the conditions or the official who by this time had already recorded a 8-2 penalty count to the hosts.
However Cam were soon back in front when a great run from winger Phil Andrews saw him twist and turn before he dotted down on 28 mins for Tom Dunn to convert for a score of 3-10 and they extended their lead on 37 mins when a neat chip ahead by flanker Jono was carried over the line by Cranleigh and from the resulting 5m scrum #8 Josh Watson stormed over to score and again with Tom Dunn adding the extras this made the half time score 3-17.
The second half in fact did not really improve dramatically with Cam's attacks being halted by either a sloppy pass or almost as often the shrill whistle of the man in the middle however on 50 mins they managed to complete several phases in the red zone following another break by Phil Andrews and young hooker Greg Simmonds crashed over and with the conversion by Tom this put the black and ambers 3 scores ahead.
Again on 57 mins a similar pattern of play took place with several phases being played deep in the Cranleigh 22m and eventually gaps opened for Mac Duaibe, returning after breaking his arm early in the season, to cross with Tom again adding the extras.
The game remained very scrappy with Cam still attempting to move the ball wide on all occasions despite the very poor conditions underfoot plus the still very one sided penalty count all meaning that play took place in the black and ambers 22 far too frequently although without the hosts being able to cross the whitewash and Cam went further ahead when they were awarded a rare penalty on their 22m line. The quickly taken penalty by Ben Bowen saw play move to the home 22 and when Cam were awarded a second penalty they opted for the scrum and a couple of quick phases saw the Cranleigh defence left flat footed as Jono crossed for an unconverted try on 58 mins.
To their credit Cranleigh took play into the Cam 22 and were rewarded with a penalty try when their driving lineout was adjudged to have been brought down.
However this was the last time the hosts came close to scoring despite the repeated pleas of their winger whenever they were in the Cam half for an Alex Goode type chip for him to run on to even though the ball hadn't gone past his inside centre the entire game.
Deep into injury time Cam were still pressing and Jono crossed for his second and Cams final score to wrap things up at 41-10.
So the good news is clearly that with 9 wins on the bounce the team is doing most things right. The downside is that we are still not able to 'understand' some of the officials we meet and in closer games will not be able to sustain a similar penalty count against us and we also seem to take a long time to adjust our game plan to suit the opposition and the conditions.
Again this was a forwards day and they all put in a good shift with skipper Hill managing to hold up the opposition on several occasions to win the scrum put in and the back row, as last week, covering acres of the park. Ben Bowen had his usual lively game at 9 but it was not really a game for threequarters although they all did their jobs both in attack and defence.
Today we met a side with a solid pack of forwards who were looking for a scalp and, to their credit, they never gave up despite the energy sapping conditions with a performance belying their current league position.
Next weeks game should provide the opportunity for Cam to play the wider game they prefer as they will be playing on the Wellington College 1st team pitch as this has been selected by Old Wellingtonians as the game this season when they return to school.
So 2015 is good so far for the black and ambers and of course matching the Cherry and Whites who after their win on Friday are also 2-0 for the year to date.
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