Rusty Cam produce a storming second half to claim the points.

With the black and ambers without a game for 4 weeks following the shambles of last week, this trip to Maidenhead was always going to provide a significant challenge and so it proved when the opposition built up a solid 17 point lead with Cam only bothering the scorer in the last move of the first half when they pulled back a converted try.
However whatever was said at half time, or perhaps it was a liberal application of WD40, they were a different side altogether in the second period and scored 4 converted tries played some scintillating rugby and restricted the home side to one unsuccessful shot at goal.

The game started with both sides less than fluid but with 7 mins on the clock the home side took advantage of a pen on the Cam 22 to open their account.
The next phase of the game was a bit scrappy with Cam pinged several times for rolling too far after the tackle and although the Cam scrum was clearly dominant at this stage they were unable to convince the official that they were pushing straight and a very dodgy Maidenhead lineout which was pillaged by Hughsey and Birdy regularly throughout the game just added to a disjointed feel.
In this period both sides were also clearly testing their opponents and we saw Fiery George and Woody making good yards but overall the home side was much more together and it was only good D on several occasions which kept the Magenta boys at bay. On a rare visit to the Maidenhead red zone Cam were awarded a scrum under the posts but somehow, despite driving the home side back, the official gave the pen to the home side, and the chance to open their scoring was gone and on 27 mins the home side scored a quality try to stretch their lead to 10 points.
Again Cam did manage to put some good phases together but these always ended with them somewhat carelessly losing possession and then a good attack by Maidenhead saw Cam miss two tackles in their own 22 allowing young Turton over for another converted try.
This did seem to have the desired effect on Cam and the last minutes of the half saw the black and ambers exerting real pressure on the Maidenhead line and with the home side conceding a bag of pens it became just a matter of time before they would break and in the end it was young prop Bazza, following yet another catch and drive who spun out and drove over for a try which was converted by Liam to close the half.

The second half started pretty poorly for Cam as they tamely let the kick go into touch but a couple of stolen lineouts and then a scrum pen soon saw them in the Maidenhead red zone and following the intense pressure of countless pick and goes the ball was swung out to Alex Young who just had enough gas to cross the whitewash and with Liam adding the extras the score was 17-14 with 48 mins played.
This time Cam managed the restart better and again sneaking the home side's lineout followed by a couple of pens again we saw the black and ambers in the redzone and although their first visit produced nothing we saw them run a Maidenhead pen back deep into the home 22 and following a scrum under the posts backrower Ed tucked the ball under his arm and charged over for another converted try and with Liam adding the extras the boys from Watchetts were in front.
To their credit the home side did up their game at this time but a pen hitting the posts and then a knock on when a try was definitely on, seemed to drain the enthusiasm from the team and mistakes began to creep into their game and with Cam finally concentrating on doing the simple things well we saw them begin to take a grip on proceedings and with yet another scrum in the Maidenhead red zone we saw a real training ground move when exquisite timing saw Liam pop the ball inside to Our Fiery Fireman, who had been outstanding all afternoon, and this time he had the gas and also the physicality to cross the whitewash and claim the bonus point with just 3 mins left and a score of 28-17.
However, just to demonstrate their ability the side put together a couple of minutes of outstanding rugby with initially our Flying Fijian having a dart before sending young tight head Bazza on a crazy 20m run and then the ball moved between lots more hands before Jos got hold of it again and destroyed a tiring defence to be held up just a meter from the whitewash but great Cam support this time saw Head Coach Voighty dotting down for his first score of the season and a final score of 35-17.

This really was an excellent result against a quality side who have, until today, been challenging for a top 3 spot, something which, unless one of the top 3 implodes, now looks extremely unlikely.
As with most of our games this season the victory was in the end down to another fantastic performance by the pack who dominated at scrum and lineout and with the back row getting through an absolute mountain of work, particularly in the first 40, eventually the platform was created for the backs to show their quality.

Next Saturday we return to Watchetts, weather permitting, with another tough ask against Brighton before 2 more away games at Bournemouth and S&E.

And Finally – well another drubbing by Ireland (Leinster) sees the end of the C&W's European dream for this season which probably means that the supporters and squad can enjoy their trip to Bordeaux next week???

Pic by Dinger shows Bazza touching down on the stroke of half time