Depleted Cam fall just short against League Leaders

This Saturday saw the game that we had all been waiting for with the visit of league leaders London Welsh to Watchetts.
The afternoon started poorly for Cam even before kick off with with the need to replace Oyoni, The Flying Fijian and also The Warrior as all three failed late fitness tests during the warm up (apparently all suffering from Hamstring problems).
The task for the black and ambers then became even more difficult when, leading 12-0 and 5m from the Welsh line and looking good for a third try, the Cam #8 was shown a red card which saw the home side needing to play 50 mins with 14 men and despite a truly valiant effort in the end they came up just short.
The day was sponsored by Morgan Danaher and before the kick off we held a 1 minute silence to remember Ron who sadly died during the height of the pandemic and also Brian Hamer who was a stalwart particularly during the early days of the club's time in the National Leagues, who passed away last week – both very much missed particularly by the older club members.

The game got off to a bright start with Cam defending the clubhouse end and when Welsh knocked on we saw the first scrum of the game inside the Welsh 22. The scrum became an area of difficulty for the official as, although he pinged the visitors front row regularly for not pushing straight, this didn't really solve the issue which unfortunately persisted throughout the game.
So with Cam wanting to move the ball around quickly and with Dom stealing the first lineouts a score was always on the cards and when, following several great forward phases, the ball was swung wide, great play by Smarty and Millfield saw the winger straight through the gap to dot down under the posts with just 10 mins on the clock (which wasn't working on our fancy electronic scoreboard!!)
At this time Cam were clearly getting the upper hand and when the visitors #15 fluffed a pretty standard penalty in front of the posts the black and ambers were soon back in the Welsh half and when Smarty put a penalty onto the resultant lineout catch and drive was a formality with our Ozzie Mole claiming the try the score had moved to 12-0 after 11 mins.
Despite a couple of forays by the visitors we saw Cam taking a quick penalty on halfway and only desperate defence by the visitors stopped a third try but the official reversed a Cam pen 5 m from the Welsh line when he adjudged that the our #8 had been guilty of foul play and so the chance for a third try was lost and Cam were down to 14.
With 10 mins to half time the visitors applied some pressure and although the Cam D was good the visitors eventually crossed for an unconverted try on Half time.

The visitors soon made their numerical advantage count at the start of the second half when the scored a converted try out wide with just 3 mins of the half played and then took the lead when, despite a great defensive tackle by young Harry, they soon moved into the Cam red zone and a driving maul saw them dot down for a 12-17 scoreline after 50 mins.
The next 10 mins or so saw the black and ambers working hard to get back on terms and after 62 mins another driving maul from a 5m lineout saw Josh Wright emerge to claim the try and with Smarty adding the extras the home side were just in front.
However 14 v 15 is always tough and it was no real surprise that the extra effort would eventually tell on the black and ambers and after holding up a goal line assault for an age Cam eventually conceded a penalty try which made the score 19-24 and a moment of madness in the closing minute saw Cam try to move the ball from deep inside their 22 and when they conceded a penalty the visitors gratefully accepted the offer to deny the home side an lbp.

However despite the result this was a great day for rugby, a packed clubhouse, a massive visiting support enjoying the rugby, the weather and the Fish Bar, and two good sides going toe to toe for 80 mins – I can't wait for the return fixture in January.

So a disappointing result but a very brave performance by Cam with the boys brought in at the last minute acquitting themselves well. With everyone playing their socks off it isn't really right to pick out individuals but Harry put in several key hits and is learning and improving every match In addition, although perhaps a tad smaller than your average rugby player both Shawa and Picket were outstanding again today punching well above their weight and Dom, Voighty, Greg, Connor and Birdy put in massive shifts to keep the side in touch until the end.

And Finally – well the C&Ws play tomorrow against the Irish in a game which is difficult to call although with a couple of Ws under their belt, including last weeks against Sale at Castle Grim, and pretty much a full squad we Shed Heads must be optimistic.

Next we are away to meet our favourite DoR Dickon and his Cornish? side – remember for those travelling its a 14.15 kick off

Pic by Dinger - Big Dom Claiming a lineout