Cam back on top with Seven try Win

So on a glorious, October Saturday the Cam supporters were anxious to see if the 1s could shake last week's poor performance out of their legs and return to the form they had shown earlier in the season.
In the end they went away happy with a 7 try win but also somewhat concerned that their side, having raced into a 26 point lead within the first half hour, then again tended to lapse into their loose training field style which had been their downfall at Exiles, allowing E&L, a physical but very limited side who are still without a win, to claim a try bonus point in time added on.
Yes it does seem hard to criticise a team who win scoring 7 tries but with the 1s targetting promotion at the end of the season this performance was not at the level which they will need to achieve this goal as for much of the game they played with little commitment, showed very poor decision making and even worse execution and would have been punished by a better side.
The game started quite brightly for Cam with a good scrum and when the visitors dropped the ball on halfway HT fly hacked it on and was only just beaten to the touchdown. With the scrum already going well and with Cam pinching the first lineout the visitors were always under pressure although sometimes their final pass went astray it really a question of was when rather than if the first score would happen and on 13 mins we saw a good charge by TK resulting in an attacking lineout which Hoff secured and the drive saw Hughsey touch down for the opening try which TommyD converted from close to touch.
Things got better when the restart was taken cleanly by Hoff and we saw The Warrior with one of his bullocking runs take play up to halfway and quick recycling saw Oli run through the remaining defence to score and although TommyD's conversion attempt from wide out hit the post the score was now 12-0 with just 15 played.
Again from the restart the ball was moved quickly up into the opposition half and although we saw a couple of poor passes Rory did well to rescue the ball in the opposition 22 and Ash popped up to dot down for a converted try on 21 mins.
At this stage it was all Cam and they were soon back in the red zone and when a good lineout drive was stopped illegally the subsequent phases found prop Steve hanging around out wide and when his prop's version of a side step didn't work he flopped over for the bonus try which TommyD converted on 27 mins and the try bonus already in the bag.
Unfortunately, as I have reported far too regularly over the years, the wheels just came off with an apparent dramatic drop in energy levels, physicality and concentration which allowed the plucky visitors to launch their own series of attacks and the last 10 minutes of the first half saw them score 2 converted tries and a penalty to make the score 26-17 at the break.
The second period started with Cam again conceding possession far too easily but within 6 mins they went further ahead when, from a scrum on halfway, a good burst by centre Rory saw Ash and Oyoni break through and despite the final pass looking a tad forward Oyoni dotted down for another converted try with just 5 mins played in the second period.
Again the game moved back into a very scrappy phase and the persistent visitors scored their third try of the afternoon on 55 mins giving them the target of a try bonus.
Then on 60 mins Cam again came to life when they won a series of phases and a quick switch by Smarty saw him put winger Oyoni away and Ash was again on hand to dot down.
Despite a second yellow card Cam were still dominating the set pieces and yet another great lineout drive saw the visitors penalised and patience and quick ball from a number of phases eventually allowed Hoff to crash over under the posts for a well deserved try on 40 mins which TommyD converted.
However there was still time for the gallant losers to grab a bonus point with an injury time try.
With the other results this week Cam move back to the top of the league on points difference from Reigatians but they will all know that their performances must improve significantly if they want to maintain that position.

Next week the 1s travel to Gosport for another must win fixture against a side who seem to be struggling since their relegation from London 1.

The 2s, also playing Effingham at Watchetts, had a poor first half and turned round 0-3 down but after a tough half time chat from JJ they got their act together to win their game 36-3.

Moving on to the more senior side of the club it was really good to watch our rejuvenated Vets side put Ironsides to the sword under lights of Friday.
Following years of sterling work by JLS this season he has passed the mantle to Bones and Toby Saunders who have assembled a very impressive array of former Cam players – last night's front row consisted of Russ 'I can out lift Andrew Sheridan' Kirby, Ben Gotting, Rocky and Neil Mac and with the back five including Ben Glossop, Glenn Holland, Graeme Fleming, Robbie Nicholas and Hilly most scrums saw the visitors retreating at a rate of knots. Outside we saw Andy Dowan at 10, Bones, who didn't drop too much and so managed to score 3 tries, Arthur, Toby and Wreaksy who is currently hedging his bets by also playing for the 2s this weekend.
Apologies for those I have missed (or didn't recognise) but it was a great evening which attracted good support and it was interesting to see that a number of the current 1s squad were watching obviously looking to pick up tips from the 'Old Masters'.

And Finally the C&W fans make the short trip down the A46 to play at The Wreck on Sunday afternoon. It looks like a tough ask for the side who still have 10 key players including their entire first choice back three on the injury list but the fans are looking for a result following the recent disclosure that it appears it was the B**rf sugar daddy who lead the group responsible for the Premiership rejecting M Altrad's attempt to buy into Gloucester Rugby.