Pacey Camberley sink Pompey

So Cam, resplendent in their new kit, very fancy black and amber hoops, opened their campaign in LSW2 on a very wet afternoon at Portsmouth.
Things actually got off to a pretty poor start when they managed to concede a penalty within 2 mins which was gratefully converted by the hosts.
The game then went through a period where both sides tried to shake off their ring rustiness and with Cam also clearly getting on the wrong side of the official who, ably assisted throughout the game by several of the vociferous Portsmouth back division, decided that the black and ambers were consistently offside at the breakdown and so on 17 mins Tom Dunn took a team yellow.
Even at this stage it was clear that Cam were by far the pacier side while the hosts were much happier arm wrestling among the forwards and each side almost crossed the whitewash during the next 30 mins during which time the black and ambers were forced to again play with 14 men for 10 mins when Kyle was again adjudged (by both the official and the Pompey defence) to have strayed offside.
The hosts now having had 20 minutes playing against 14 men were becoming increasingly frustrated that the scoreboard did not reflect this advantage and almost on the stroke of half time they were further crushed when from a scrum 5m from the black and ambers line young Josh Wright decided to run the ball out of defence, fed brother Ash on the 10m line and from there it was no contest with Ash dotting down and Tommy adding the extras.
Pompey had one last assault on the Cam line but the black and ambers defence was solid and so the half closed with the hosts down 3-7.
The start of the second half again saw the weighty Pompey 8 trying to force their way over the line but a great pickup at the base of the scrum by debutant TK saw him take play away from the red zone and with assistance from Oyni play returned to half way.
However with only 4 mins played Pompey took the lead again when a charged down kick landed perfectly for their player who managed to gather and cross for an unconverted try.
However the black and ambers were back in front straight from the restart when great work by the forwards turned over possession and centre Olli, the third of the Wright Bros, running an amazing line cut through the lumbering defence and despite being tackled a couple of metres short he managed to pop the pass to Jono who scored under the posts for a second converted try making the score 8-14 with only 5 mins of the second half played.
Unfortunately Ollie then was helped off the field and within 5 mins Pompey had reduced the lead with a soft penalty but they still didn't seem to understand that kicking the ball to the Cam back three was inviting danger particularly as by now the rain had eased.
So a loose kick from the restart say Henry Tagg and Laz run the ball back to their 5m line and the next one was more critical when Josh, Oyne and Ash combined to see Ash speed over for his second try and a score of 11-19 after 56 mins.
The restart saw the worst of the black and ambers however when poor marking and non existent tackling saw the Pompey outside half run through the defence to set up a converted try bringing the score back to 18-19.
At this stage it seemed that the hosts found a second wind and they set up another attack but great D by Cam saw play move back to the hosts 22 but the pressure on Pompey was relieved, or so they thought, when they were awarded yet another penalty. The attempted touch finder however only found the back three and saw Ash making great yards before feeding Oyni whose pace and sheer physicality saw him force his way over for the bonus point try which Tommy D converted - so a bit of daylight between the sides with 15 mins to go the lead had stretched to 8 points.
Cam were still struggling at scrum time but on several occasions Mac at 8 cleverly picked up the ball even with his pack going backwards, making valuable yards and often linking with the backs.
On another occasion TK picked up loose ball and with Hoff took play from the Cam 22 to the hosts and this eventually resulted in a rare penalty opportunity for Cam but in the difficult conditions Tommy D pushed his kick wide.
Cam, having played with 15 men for about 20 mins then lost Dylan to the sin bin for a sloppy tackle and the final period saw Pompey trying to strong arm the ball over the Cam line only to be thwarted by great Camberley D and the black and ambers closed out the tiring Pompey 8 and denied them their bonus point score.
On a day when weather conditions did not really favour Risey's expansive game plan the squad were outstanding in both attack and defence where they showed bucket loads of determination to deny the hosts at various times during the game but in particular at the death and also having played 30 mins of the game with 14 men.
So a big shout out for all of the forwards who, despite appearing as middleweights against superheavyweights, used their strength, fitness and sheer determination to keep the Pompey 8 from scoring.
It was a more difficult day for the backs particularly in the first half and there were some mistakes early on but already they are showing that they are really very special with pace to burn and bucket loads of skill.
Great debuts for Ollie and Josh Wright plus flanker TK with the 2 Henry's and Stephen making serious impacts from the bench.
So with the 2s continuing their great pre season form with a 51-0 thrashing of Teddington Risey and his team will no doubt be looking forward to preparing for next weeks games when the 1s are at home to Andover with the 2s away at Effingham.
Next Saturday also sees the Presidents Game - if you haven't booked your place for lunch yet please contact Derek Olsen or Mike Courtness as soon as possible.
Finally, despite the rain, following 2 rather less than satisfactory performances by the C&Ws against the Tigers and Warriors, (I put it down to playing on Friday nights!!), this performance went some considerable way to lifting my gloom -= than!!