Outstanding Cam claim another 5 and leave Medway pointless

Any trip to Medway RFC is always a challenge as the Kent side have, for several seasons, been favourites for promotion and when injury and unavailability saw Risey make 8 changes, positional and personnel, from the side who had struggled at times the previous week, the expectations of those making the trip around the M25 were not high. In the event a tremendous performance by the squad, full of heart, quality, determination and guts saw the black and ambers in the event win comfortably, claiming the try bonus point immediately after half time and despite a fightback by the Kent side Cam refused to let them cross the whitewash in 80 minutes of great rugby by the Surrey side.
The team sheet saw a new centre pairing of Ash and James on his 1st XV debut, Rich and Ryan starting as flankers, Lurch came in to replace Ryan in the row, TJ starting at 2 with Matt Naeem, also on debut, and Dave Moore on the bench.
The game started with Cam facing quite a strong breeze, playing on a hard, brown pitch clearly showing the lack of water in these parts and Smarty immediately pushed play up into the opposition 22 with a great kick.
Cam then disrupted the home side ball and after 3 or 4 phases the ball was swung wide where we saw great hands from TJ before the ball was switched wide to Dom who crashed over for a try after just 2 mins and with Smarty adding the extras the voluble Medway supporters were stunned.
From the restart Medway soon regathered possession midway between the Cam 22 and 10m lines but they were unable to break through some tremendous defence but were eventually awarded a penalty for offside.
The restart saw Medway knock on and from a good Cam scrum Rich had a very physical dart, I think that is the only way the burly flanker plays his rugby and the play was carried on by James and Dom was again in the right place to cross for his second score of the afternoon converted by Smarty who clearly had found his kicking boots this week, so 14-3 after 12 mins.
The restart was not handled as well on this occasion and it ended up with a Medway lineout on the Cam 22 but great ripping saw the ball turned over yet again but Medway using the breeze were soon back in the Cam half but despite lots of possession they only seemed able to chasse across the park making no ground although with 25 mins played they kicked another penalty.
However despite again taking play into the Cam half Medway were still unable to break the Camberley vice and were punished further when Ash intercepted close to his own 22 and he simply had too much gas for the opposition to score another converted try and a 21-6 lead after 30 mins.
The rest of the half was played in a similar vein with the home side having lots of possession but not really able to dent the Cam defensive wall which was magnificent with all players doing their bit. However one has to ask why Medway continued to run straight at players like Lurch, Dom, Rich, and Hughsey who on all occasions unceremoniously dumped their opponents onto the ground and when they tried to push the play wider they were dealt with by James and the rest of the backs.
So half time came and with Cam now playing with the breeze, the Watchetts faithful were breathing a tad easier and from the restart Medway were under the cosh when they only managed to clear to their 22 and a series of pick and goes with Dom in particular looking for a hat trick eventually saw the ball reach Oyoni on the touchline who dotted down in the corner for another excellent team try and with Smarty judging the breeze to perfection and slotting the kick from the touchline the score had moved to 28-6, try bonus secured with just 42 mins played.
The remaining 40 mins saw Cam largely in defensive mode and included a series of at least 10 scrums on the Cam line which eventually resulted in the home side being awarded a penalty try on 60 mins.
Smarty added a penalty after 65 mins and Ryan was almost over in the corner but the only thing of note which happened in this rather more dour second half was that with the arrival of Big Dave we witnessed the home side's pack being driven back at a canter, a real result for the black and ambers having been under the cosh in the tight for most of the second half and it was great to see the whole side celebrate this achievement with gusto.

So a great result which says such a lot about the coaching team and their methods and the strength in depth of the senior squad that 4 of the squad rarely play in the 1s and we also had 2 boys on debut.
The front five, Greg, TJ, Bazza, Lurch, Dom and Dave had a tough afternoon in the set piece but stuck at it and really enjoyed their big victory close to the end while the back row of Ryan, Hughsey, Rich, and Matt tackled themselves into the ground while also playing a big part as ball carriers.
Skipper Tom is becoming more influential every week and appears to be having a very positive effect on Smarty, (whose kicking today was 100%) and debutant James at 12 looked as if he had played in the 1s for years and I am already looking to see him play with Jaid when the Brizzle Boy is allowed to return after his knock against HAC,
The back three always look menacing with Oyoni enjoying getting back to the wide outside, Jayde seeming to enjoy the open style that the coaches try to implement and then we have veteran TommyA who missed the first couple of games and is clearly playing out of his skin to ensure that his name is always first on the team sheet.
So a really great result, lots of sore bodies for a day or so but this newish squad is beginning to understand what it is capable of and with Dartfordians, Thurrock and Westcombe Park our next 3 opponents we should have a better view of things come the middle of October.
Next Sat the 1s entertain Dartfordians while the 2s hope to get their season up and running, following the postponement of their first 2 league games, when they travel to Brighton while the Development squad take on Guildford following a 47-21 win against Teddington 2s today.

Pic shows Ryan who enjoyed his game at 6 today