Cam claim the points at very wet Battersea.

Any visit to our old friends Battersea has the potential to produce an upset and this was even more likely on Saturday when the heavens opened at lunchtime and it then continued to pour until well into the evening. In fact, the much changed black and ambers, in the end did enough to claim the 4 points but in a game where their forwards dominated for long periods they will be a tad disappointed that they were unable to push on and deny the hosts anything from the game.
So in atrocious conditions Cam kicked off and were immediately on the attack first setting up a series of driving mauls from a lineout and within a couple of minutes were ahead when Smarty converted a simple penalty.
The restart saw Smarty take play back into the Battersea half and again good lineout drives saw Cam again threatening but they lost the advantage when they tried to throw the ball out wide as conditions were really too bad for open rugby.
Scrum time also saw the Cam eight dominate and this pressure was eventually rewarded when a good scrum saw #9 Tom dart over from 15m to dot down out wide on 14 mins. Smarty's excellent kick moved the score to 10-0.
At this time it was all Cam although they were already conceding too many penalties at the breakdown and lineout.
The restart was not handled cleanly by Cam and they found themselves under some pressure in their 22 and eventually conceded another pen which Battersea converted making the score 10-3 on 20 mins.
The restart again saw Cam camp in the Battersea half and a great scrum drive saw the hosts almost running backwards but when Hughsey picked up at #8 and charged forward he was brought down and again the black and ambers conceded a penalty helping to relieve the pressure for the home side.
The next period saw Cam regularly putting several series good pick and goes together and a number of great lineout drives but inevitably, it seemed, the ball was spilled at the crucial point or a penalty conceded and so this was the pattern until close to half time when Battersea lost a player for a tip tackle on George.
The game was much too open considering the atrocious conditions but when Cam won a penalty on the hosts 22 Smarty put the ball into the corner and a great lineout drive saw Ozzie Greg emerge to claim the try.
So playing time added, on the restart was bungled and we saw Battersea put the ball into the corner in the hope that they could copy what Cam had just achieved at the other end. However the Cam D was just too good and forced the error from the Battersea backs which brought the half to an end.

The second half saw Smarty receiving the kick and putting the ball out just outside the Battersea 22 and it wasn't too long before Cam won another pen on the Battersea 22 with Smarty opting for the 5m lineout.
The drive was good but somehow Battersea repelled the attack and when the ball was pushed out wide but another mistake produces a scrum to Battersea.
Eventually despite being pushed backwards they managed to kick to halfway and we saw George with another electric run but the final pass was knocked on and another opportunity lost.
Battersea then had their period of possession and despite their scrum and lineout creaking they managed to win the game of kick tennis and on 55 mins a sloppy pass in the Cam backs saw the Battersea centre gratefully accept it and dot down under the posts to make the score 17-10 on 55 mins.

The restart saw Charlie reclaim Smarty's kick and some good phases saw Cam move into the Battersea 22 but again another fwd pass gave the hosts the scrum and another pen against the black and ambers saw Battersea kick the goal to make the score 17-13 on 20 mins.

The restart again saw some good attacking play by Cam and several drives saw them almost cross the whitewash but held up short, another opportunity lost. More errors from both sides eventually saw Smarty slot a penalty to make the score 20-13 on 26 mins

This period saw even more kick tennis and from one we saw George again run the ball back and after beating four or five players the final pass to Musa was adjudged forward when the flanker had a clear sight of the goal line.

The final 10 mins saw Cam back in the Battersea half with Smarty failing to convert a penalty in the dying minutes the home side claimed their losing bonus point.

Overall a good result for Cam in the most difficult conditions imaginable although as is the case so often, they did make it more difficult for themselves by continually trying to play their open game when, with the lineout and scrumtime dominance, we should probably have 'stuck it up the jumper' much more than we did.
A great shift by the forwards and just a very tough and not very pleasant afternoon for the backs – remember guys not all games are won with exciting open rugby and you did have some fun last week.

So next week its League leaders London Welsh at Watchetts, lets hope we get a dry afternoon if only so that the supporters avoid another soaking.

And Finally - so after a couple of 'could do better' weeks the C&Ws eventually recorded their first W of the season against The Warriors at Sixways in what seems to have been a decent performance and now look forward to Sale at Castle Grim next week.

Pic (by Dinger) shows our Ozzie Mole scoring or the second week burrowing under the rest of the forwards to score the second try