Cam Conquer Conditions and Quality Opposition to Extend their Lead.

On a very wet and cold Saturday, in fact physio Sophie was adamant that it was the coldest so far this season, and on a day when, remarkably, all five teams who at 14.00 were in the bottom half of the League won their games, high flying Cam managed the dreadful conditions and a very competent opposition to record yet another bonus point win and stretch their lead at the top to 12 points.
In what proved to be a hard fought game with the home side not prepared to give an inch, Cam never quite established the dominance that has been their hallmark for much of the season but always had enough to overcome a quality side whose fierce tackling and very successful driving maul posed problems for the black and ambers all afternoon.
The game started with Cam playing into a strong breeze laced with rain and were a tad fortuitous to take the lead on 4 mins when Hughsey collected the ball following some scrappy play and charged through the OTs defence before popping the ball to HT who crossed under the posts and with Smarty adding the extras, the virtual scoreboard 'clicked' into action – they really do need a Mr Doody!!!.
We then saw a period when Cam, as we have seen previously this season tried to play 'champagne' rugby and this was just not the approach required against a team whose tackling was excellent and who were really up for the task and so we saw OTs with lots of possession and which almost brought the hosts a score and only great defence kept them at bay.
Slowly the black and ambers decided to go with plan A which meant they reverted to playing simple rugby and this bore fruit when following a great physical run by young Mua we saw TommyA and Oyoni carry on the move before Ash raced over for another try converted by Smarty.
The next try was also not long in arriving when a loose tap down from an OTs lineout was picked up by Mac and his burst, supported by Ash, saw Hughsey cross for the 3rd try and again with Smarty adding the extras the score moved to 21-0 after 27 mins.
However OTs were not out of the game at this stage and they moved onto the scoreboard when they drove over from a 5m lineout.
There was still time for a Camberley response and they can consider themselves very unlucky when they set up a driving maul which was clearly pulled down within a metre of the OTs line which would have seen them claim the bonus point only for it to be denied by the official.
The second half saw Cam playing with the breeze and they were soon deep in the OTs half and while playing a penalty advantage we saw good hands by HT move the ball to TommyA with Ash on hand to cross for the 4th try with just 3 mins of the half played.
It was good to see Cam maintain their intensity as, from the restart, we saw young tight head Nick's bullocking 30m run which was followed by another very physical charge by hooker Mua, take play into the hosts 22 and although OTs managed to turn the ball over, an interception by Hasty saw the prop feed Oli who charged over for try numeb 5 which was also converted by Smarty.
Again Cam attacked from the restart when Hughsey took the ball and forced his way deep into the opposition half and a quick tap penalty saw TommyA almost over for another try only to be held up over the line.
Although Cam continued to play some quite outstanding rugby in patches their concentration levels generally dropped and they also lost lock Tom Keith with a suspected fractured arm, and as a result OTs in a two rare visits to the Cam 22 managed to score two more converted tries and although the black and ambers came close to adding to their tally during the final 20 mins much of which was spent in the OTs 22 there was no additions to the score which remained 19-35.
Without doubt, based on the history between the two cliubs over the last 3 seasons this game was always going to be one of the major challenges of the season and this developing side came through the challenge well and with the rest of the chasing pack all losing the result extends their lead at the top, however with Exiles up next plus a very tasty Divisional Cup game against '100%ers' Rochford Hundred at the end of February there are challenges aplenty for Risey's boys.
Overall then another great team performance with everyone contributing to a hard fought 5 points with the pack putting another great shift, and the backs again showcasing their attacking and defensive quality and hopefully the whole squad beginning to realise that Plan A is often a good place to start.

Next week we have a double header against London Exiles so with the 2s maintaining their 100% record with a 32-14 win against Law Society we should be in for yet another Saturday of exciting rugby at Watchetts – don't miss it!!

And Finally - well the C&Ws managed to score 7 tries against a young Ospreys side on Friday and with the results from Irish and Bath going in their favour they have created the opportunity to proceed to the knock out rounds if they get a result in the frozen North next weekend – important really only because the final of this obscure competition is due to be played at the 'home of English Rugby' – aka the hallowed turf of Kingsholm