Hughsey Magic leaves Eastleigh Cold

From the beginning of the season the Cam coaches had always identified the trip to Eastleigh as one of the more difficult away fixtures and on a raw and breezy afternoon, on a pitch which was very soft in places the black and amber supporters were cautious in their predictions. In the event their team, playing down the slope with the advantage of the chill breeze, put in such a dominant performance in the first 40 that the game was done and dusted despite a token resurgence by the hosts in the last quarter.
From the kick off Eastleigh played a few phases but a great rip by Jono saw Cam claim possession and when they were awarded a penalty TommyD took play down into the hosts 22.
Cam then won their lineout ball and a great catch and drive saw them moving forward and when the ball was released a great miss pass by Will saw Jono and Ash quickly shipping the ball to winger Phil who crashed over in the corner with just 4mins on the clock. A tremendous conversion by TommyD from the touchline made it 0-7 to the black and ambers.
The game then became more fluid for a time but Eastleigh, even when they had good field position, just made too many mistakes or coughed up possession or kicked rather aimlessly.
One such kick was brilliantly taken by Will, playing 15 today, and when he fed Laz the winger set off on a mazy run which took him to within 5m of the line before he was brought down with a desperate last ditch tackle, however the ball was recycled and Hoff forced himself over for a try on 18 mins. TommyD, who clearly has been watching too much international rugby, particularly with the likes of Dan Biggar, found that when he actually made contact with the ball he has an Eastleigh player in his face and who, to his credit, charged down the conversion attempt.
Although for the next quarter the hosts were not short on territory they were unable to string enough phases together to really threaten the black and amber line. On one occasion a chip ahead took the ball over the line and Laz collecting it decided to set off – he stepped three Eastleigh attackers before he was caught after at least 30m – just one instance showing the immense confidence which flows through the team.
Cam were doing well in the set scrum although the earlier lineouts were not quite so successful but it was good to see skipper Woodsy making his first start and making a complete nuisance of himself at every Eastleigh put in which meant that they were unable to get the ball out wide.
After a bit of handbags (unlike the Eastleigh v Trojans game the ref sensibly stayed well clear) Cam won a couple of pens and took play to about 15m from the hosts line. Another great catch and drive saw Eastleigh defending desperately and when Dan spun off the maul the ball quickly went from Dylan to Jono who had the honour of dotting down for the score with 33 mins on the clock.
The restart saw another attack by the hosts but again at the crucial time they were turned over and an enormous kick by Hughsey from within his 22 saw the ball bounce into touch on their 22.
In the visitors red zone again Cam again made the hosts pay for their earlier profligacy when, from a good scrum, the ball quickly reached Hughsey at outside centre and he simply switched on the afterburners and stormed over from 30m for a try which showed his real class – which he was to confirm later in the game. With TommyD adding the extras the score was now 24-0, the bonus point secured and half time approaching.
The kick off for the second half saw Cam again up the intensity and within a few minutes Phil Cresswell was held up just short after a good run down the wing but from the ensuing 5m scrum the ball was moved quickly to Ash who touched down for a converted try on 44mins.
The restart was good from Cam and when Laz fielded a defensive kick on halfway his great up and under saw Hughsey chase hard from within his half, he leapt and caught the ball at full speed just outside the Eastleigh 22 despite the attention of the Eastleigh defence, before storming over for his second try. This was simply Hughsey at his imperious best – amazing skills, great pace and strength and a good rugby brain – and to a man all of the knowledgeable local supporters applauded his wonderful skill. With TommyD unable to add the extras the score moved to 36-0 after 52 mins.
Regular supporters of the black and ambers will surely now be able to write the rest of this report themselves – the foot comes off the pedal (only a little) but enough to let the opposition into the game and true to form the lads did not go off script with the result that the hard working hosts, with the help of them going to uncontested scrums, came back to score 2 converted tries in the last quarter to make the final score 14-36.
This was again a very good performance from Cam with much of the work being done by the forwards. As with Ironsides the tackling and ability to turnover opposition ball was outstanding and left Eastleigh with few options after a few phases but to kick. The second half saw less pressure and can partly be explained by the soft pitch not being too conducive to the expansive rugby they enjoy.
The forwards battled hard and apart from a few missed lineouts early doors they were more than a match for their experienced opponents. In addition to their set piece skills it is great to see them all wanting the ball in their hands – in the final 10 mins there was one attack in which Hoff and Jono both handled the ball several times in a single phase of play and made 30m in the process.
We all knew that skipper Woodsey was around as he constantly barked orders to his forwards – and despite a couple of daisy cutter passes to TommyD his ability to disrupt the opposing 9 at scrum time is very valuable.
The backs all contributed both in attack and defence throughout the afternoon, Ash and Alex in the centre always looked dangerous with ball in hand, wingers Laz and Phil came so close on several occasions with their searing pace and confidence to run balls back and Will playing 15 had a really good game in what were testing conditions.
So next week we welcome the Navy back to Watchetts – a team to whom we have lost twice already this season so Risey and co will no doubt be working hard at training this week to ensure the boys in blue do not get their hatrick.
Now for the C&W supporters, it is great to report that we despatched the Queens at Castle Grim today 28-6 – some payback for the disrespect many supporters felt was shown by CoS and his crew at the recent Big Game. I also understand that the long awaited announcement about our new owners is expected on Monday.
So next weekend Watchetts ko 2.30 – the boys need your support to maintain their drive for the top spot.