1st XV
Matches
Sat 06 Apr 2019  ·  London South 1
Medway
13
24
Camberley Rugby Football Club
1st XV
Tries: D Emerton , T Allen, A Hughes, S VoightConversions: M Smart (2)
Cam Claim Another Maximum as they outplay promotion hopefuls Medway

Cam Claim Another Maximum as they outplay promotion hopefuls Medway

Roger Berry7 Apr 2019 - 08:39
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Cam Claim Another Maximum as they outplay promotion hopefuls Medway

The trip to League Leaders Medway was always going to be one of the most challenging games of the season for this squad as only a win would realistically be good enough to keep Cam in the promotion hunt.
In the event, on a day when a stiff wind blew from post to post sometimes laced with rain, the boys from Watchetts delivered another outstanding performance, staying tight and focussed for the full 80 mins to claim their try bonus point victory while denying the hosts a lbp despite the huge pressure they applied particularly in the last quarter and despite the loss of centres Joey and Ash mid way through the first half first half.
The game saw Cam playing into the breeze in the first half and in the early exchanges they took the game to Medway with a couple of good lineout catch and drives and when Medway kicked out on the full giving Cam good field position, we saw the black and ambers control possession for a number of phases before the ball was swung out wide and when another miss pass found Dyl almost on the touchline the hooker forced his way over in the corner for the opening score on 8 mins.
At this stage it was all Cam as they claimed dominance in the scrum and lineouts and as a result they were soon back in the red zone and from a scrum we saw Oyoni charge in from the blind side wing to make the extra man before putting TommyA over for a try and with Smarty adding the extras with a very difficult kick Cam were 12 points up with 13 mins on the clock.
Medway then had a period of possession and when Cam infringed in front of their posts the home side took the three points as they had already realised that it would take something special to pierce the visitors defence .

We then saw the first and probably only period when the squad momentarily switched off. Cam were back in the red zone and gave away a soft pen when the backs encroached at a lineout and kicking with the wind Medway moved play to halfway and when another silly penalty saw the home side luckily turn that into a 5m lineout (the kick was actually going nowhere near touch but when it bounced at least 5m in play a savage 90 degree change of direction saw it go into touch rather than run dead) - two drops in concentration, 90m lost and momentum lost - something which could have been extremely costly.
However again the forwards managed to steal possession at the lineout and clear the ball but this did signal a period when Medway had more of the ball and they started to test the Cam defence and it was in one such attack that Cam lost both Joey (thumb) and Ash (cut eye) which meant a reshuffle saw Hughsey, who was having an immense game at openside, moving out to play in the centre.
However great defence particularly at the lineouts and scrums saw the home side become more frustrated and the one opportunity when they did manage to break the first line of defence we saw an outstanding tackle by fullback TommyA deny the score and so it remained 3-12 at half time.
The second half saw Medway on the front foot and they soon clawed back another 3 points and with their pack now dominating the scrum - quite a remarkable turnaround, they began to put Cam under a lot of pressure but great work at scrum time by Mac and Matty saw play again move into the Medway half and sloppy play by the home sides backs saw Hughsey gratefully accept a telegraphed pass and charge in from the 22 to dot down under the posts for a 19-6 lead on 60 mins.

To their credit Medway at no time were prepared to give up the fight and although play from both sides became a tad more error strewn as the pace of the game took its toll, the home side could make no progress against a magnificent Cam defence until a well executed lineout catch and drive saw them narrow the gap with a converted try on 70 mins.
The restart again saw Medway unable to move out of their own half for a period and the irrepressible hooker Dyl again showed what a great footballer he is when he leapt on a poor pass in a flash and almost made it to the line but quick recycling and a fabulous miss pass saw Voighty crash over in the corner for the tbp and a 13 - 24 scoreline on 73 mins.
Again Medway threw everything they had at Cam and quickly took up position in the Cam red zone but in the end the black and ambers took everything that they could throw at them and withstood this final onslaught, bringing back memories of the 7Oaks game, and denying the hosts the lbp which they strove for so desperately.
So another fabulous performance from this squad who have grown so magnificently in this incredible journey from Surrey 1 which started in 2014/15 and they have proved, at least to their loyal supporters, on countless occasions that they can lift their game when the situation requires them to.

And so to the final challenge of the season when next week we host third placed Brighton who welcomed us to this league with a pretty stiff lesson on what we should expect - a lesson which was learned very quickly by this squad and reflected in their current League position.
Next week there is a pre match lunch - book through Mike Courtness but if you can't make the lunch PLEASE COME DOWN AND SUPPORT THE BOYS - MAKE SOME NOISE and of course have a few beers as well.
So, with the other results from today we see Cam level on 105 points with 7Oaks, Brighton, who are due to visit Watchetts next Saturday for the final round of games, on 102 and Medway stuck on 101 - I'm sure you can all do the maths.
With the 2s winning away at Dorking and the 3s confirming their league playoff place with a 69-17 victory over Cranleigh it was yet another successful weekend for the club

And Finally - well the C&Ws have a tough game today at Franklins Gardens in their bid for a playoff place - the Prem is becoming a bit like the top of our league when everything is so tight and there are no easy games in the run in for anyone it seems.

Pics by Callum's Dad Stewart

Match details

Match date

Sat 06 Apr 2019

Kickoff

TBC

Competition

London South 1

League position

1
Medway
3
Camberley
Team overview
Further reading

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