Cam win battle of the packs

On a beautifully mild December day with temperatures unseasonably warm Watchetts hosted both Teddington 1s and 2s in addition to putting on the annual Xmas lunch which was so well attended that the bar area was overflowing.
The match was sponsored by Scottie – an outstanding 7 in our National League days and it was good to see a number of other ex players at the club including Rocksy, Hutch, Pinto, Bradders, Jim Fowers, Simon Maylam, Stewie, Gascoigne and Floydy to name just a few
Following an excellent meal the game kicked off with Cam playing into the breeze defending the clubhouse end.
They managed the kickoff well and soon, assisted by 3 or 4 penalties conceded by the visitors, found themselves in the visitors 22 but were unable to press home their advantage.
Even in these opening encounters, however, it was apparent that the visitors had decided to push the official and the black and ambers to the limit as shown by the number of penalties they conceded withing the opening 10 mins and the continuous refereeing by several members of their team. Luckily the official proved to be strong enough to maintain control and although the niggling and poor attitude of the visitors continued for the entire 80 mins Cam, with one or two exceptions, managed, by and large, to keep their cool and let their playing do the talking – which was unfortunate in so far as the visitors certainly had the skills to play but appeared to have decided they preferred to fight.
Despite all of this the first 20 mins were very tight with Cam gaining supremacy in the scrums and lineouts but the first line defence of the visitors proving to be well drilled and solid.
On 15 mins Cam managed to put a few phases together and won a penalty wide out which just hit the wrong side of the posts however they kept up the pressure and helped on by the Teddington forward who conceded 3 pens on the bounce, the black and ambers took a lineout on the visitors 5m and a great catch and drive saw Jack Robinson force his way over for the first score – which was hotly disputed by the visiting 9 – no surprise there then.
The restart was handled well but then Cam conceded a penalty which brought play into their 22 followed by a rather strange decision against them, when they appeared to have ripped the ball free in a maul, gave the visitors a chance to reduce the deficit but they pushed the kick wide.
Then on 30 mins good play by Tommy A saw him and Jono break through the visitors defence only to be pulled back for a forward pass.
Tommy D had another chance to add to the score but his attempt was pushed wide but in this period until half time Cam were slowly gaining the ascendency and in one great piece of rugby lock Sam Voight with ball in hand absolutely flattened the visiting 7 in a great break.
Cam started the second half on the attack and a series of pick and drives in the visitors 22 eventually saw the ball released but a poor final pass cost them a certain try.
The black and ambers were then put under pressure when they were reduced to 14 for a 'no arms' tackle but even with the extra man the visitors were not able to score despite tremendous pressure in the far corner which was defended brilliantly by the forwards with outstanding work by Hoff and Dylan and with centre Joe Wood slotting into the backrow when required and it was a great relief to the home side when the 10 mins were over.
Almost immediately Cam were on the attack when great kick chase by Birdy saw him charge down a defensive kick on the visitors goal line and from the resultant pen and 5m lineout the Cam 8 forced their way over the line only to lose the ball.
Teddington continued to fight, in the literal sense, and on 55 mins Tom D extended the lead with a well struck pen.
By now the visitors had exhausted the refs patience and were down to 14 and so play was increasingly in the visitors half and from a great lineout take by Sam the black and ambers pack set up a drive.
With the ref playing a pen advantage for bring the drive down, skipper Roger Wood spun the ball wide and Cam then won a second pen advantage for a high tackle but they kept the ball alive and quick thinking and even quicker reactions saw the ball whipped out to Laz who burned off the tiring Teddington defence to touch down wide out on 70 mins and Tommy D, with the aid of the wind this time added the extras for a 15-0 scoreline which despite the efforts of both sides, by now very tired, remained the final score.
This was a great result for Risey's squad and again showed that they have the guts and discipline to fight back when the going gets tough.
Despite the beautiful conditions the backs were not as involved as would have been expected but they did all that was asked of them and Laz's try just illustrated their quick thinking and pace. However, somewhat surprisingly this turned out to be a big arm wrestle amongst the 2 packs and at the end of the 80 mins there was only one winner.
The Cam front row were magnificent with Jack and debut prop Dan clearly winning the personal battle that props fight every week. It was great to see hooker Dylan back after a long term injury and his work in defence and his accurate throwing was a joy to watch.
The backrow were in the thick of everything and although they were occasionally diverted from their main roles all three put in a great shift.
However the plaudits this week must go to locks Sam and Hoff who were simply outstanding – never a backward step from either of them, ferocious in the tackle and also when they carried ball, balletic in the lineouts as they soared above their opponents and with Hoff providing the dawg particularly with the ball on the ground they were simply immense.
To make it a double the 2s recorded a fine victory against Teddington 2s - 31-22 to make it an double Xmas present for Paddy, Alun and Risey.
So the year ends with us still leading the League but with away fixtures in the New Year against most of the sides closest to us Risey and his coaches still have a lot of challenges facing them before the end of the season but can relax over the holidays – just a tad!!!
Now for you Shed Heads who missed the Worcester game on Thursday, the C&Ws managed to win a very tough game and stay unbeaten at the top of their group but really need that Geordie lot to do a job on Connacht to make progress through the 1/4s and semis a bit easier.
Finally, to all of you who take the time to actually read my weekly 'blog'!! may I wish you all a very Happy Xmas and all the best for 2016 and if you only read it to check out the Gloucester results have no fear I will continue to report them in the New Year.