Improving Cam Claim all the points at Guildford

So after such a grey August, September once again provided a glorious sunny and warm afternoon, much more suited to games played with hard red balls but there we are.
The Guildford pitch looked glorious even if the grass seemed a tad long and the visiting supporters were hoping that last week's improved performance would be continued against their unbeaten hosts and with Smarty not available we were also all eagerly awaiting the debut of #10 Harry Faulkner for his first game of adult rugby..
What we saw was another improved performance from the black and ambers who claimed the bonus point early in the second period and although Guildford probably had the better of the second half territorially, Cam still managed to score 4 tries in that period to the hosts 2.
As to Harry, he had a really confident debut and although he had an off day from the tee, he led the line well and his determination and skill saw him collect his first try when the Guildford 15 fumbled his chip as he followed up to collect the ball and dive over.

The opening minutes saw Guildford move into the Cam 22 but good D soon moved play back into the Guildford half when Shawa won a penalty and from a lineout just inside the Guildford 22 a controlled driving maul was managed well by the black and ambers and we saw hooker Connor driven over with less than 10 mins on the clock.
The next 10 mins saw both sides testing each other out and when Cam won a defensive 5m scrum against the head they swung the ball wide and eventually good breaks by Brizzle and George won a penalty on the Guildford 10m which Harry converted making the score 0-8 after 25 mins.
At this stage the black and ambers were clearly on top in the set pieces but a moment of weakness outside saw the hosts break through to the Cam 22 and they converted the penalty for side entry to bring the score back to 3-8 after 35 mins.
However almost from the restart we saw prop Adam Pickett, Jaid and TommyA charging downfield and on the second attempt the Peter Pan #15 forced his way over for a great score.
And to rub salt into the wound, again from the restart we saw play quickly move to the Guildford 10m line Jos, George and Oyoni all made telling breaks and with the Guildford defence at 6s and 7s a neat chip by Harry pressured the Guildford 15 into a fumble and the fly half, following up hard, regained possession and dived over for the try making the score 3-18 at the break.

The second period saw some great running by Shawa, Clarky and Dom from the restart but as was to become a regular feature Cam too easily gave away possession and with Guildford clearly desperate for the first score of the half the first 5 mins of the half became a bit like 7s until a poor pass in the Guildford centre saw the ball go loose and the first to react was George who first fly hacked the ball forward and then his strength saw him wrestle the ball from the last defender as he charged to the line and as he was tackled 10m short who was there in support but Big Dom who took the pass and crashed over for the bonus point try and a 3-23 score line.
Cam went further ahead almost immediately when they were awarded a penalty on halfway and Harry tucked the ball into the corner and from the lineout drive we saw Clarkey emerge from the heap of bodies claiming the 5 points. So with just 9 mins played in the second half the score had moved to 3-28.
The next quarter saw Guildford throw everything at the black and ambers and they managed 2 tries, both from 5m lineout drives to bring the score to 15-28 after 70 mins.
However the black and ambers pulled themselves together for the final 10 with first George again showing all his skill when he followed up his own kick to collect the ball and dot down and he was again in action from the restart when he collected the kick and his mazy running took him to halfway and although Guildford won the ball back we then had the sight of Brizzle intercepting a pass on his 22. His face was a picture as he realised that he had at least 60m to run and had had too many pies in the week, but he just about had the legs for it and with Oyoni adding the extras to both of these late scores the final score was 15-42.

This was another improved performance from Risey's team as they slowly get themselves into the shape they were pre pandemic. Again great shifts by all of the forwards with The Warrior improving week on week, and both #8 Ed and #7 Shawa again performing well giving the selectors some challenges when Birdy and Hughsey, who had a good 40 mins in his first outing since breaking his leg and also becoming a Dad, are available.
Sam and Dom both worked amazingly hard particularly in defence but to see Dom on George's shoulder for his try meant that the big lock had covered at least 50m in double quick time – a great statement about his fitness.

The backs are definitely looking more cohesive each week and Harry had a good debut at #10, looked after by Tom and the other experienced backs around him.

So next week we are at home to high flying and unbeaten Chichester in a game which again should be a further step up – there is a pre match lunch which can be booked an the website.

And Finally – well the C&Ws came away empty handed from Franklins Gardens although they were up for a lbp until the dying minutes of the game and it looks like another tough season for us Shed Heads.

Pic by Dinger shows young Harry kicking to touch - under thw watchful eyes of Clarkey