Cam Hammer depleted Horsham in 11 try fest

This game together with the rest of the fixtures this month represented a potential banana skin in Cam's quest for a podium finish this season with the visitors sitting comfortably in the table with several interesting scalps already so early in the season.
In the event Cam proved too good for the Sussex team, something which was somewhat exaggerated when the visitors lost a man in the first half for dangerous play and in the end the black and ambers scored 11 tries to the visitors 2.
Again the coaching team had their struggles with selection due to the continued string of injuries and so we saw Ryan and Murph make their first starts of the season and Musa move from hooker to start on the wing – a bit of a flashback.

So after much rain the pitch was in great condition and with the sun shining we saw Cam get proceedings under way kicking off and defending the clubhouse end and when the Horsham defensive kick was run back at them by Ash and Oyoni Cam were soon in the red zone and things were made more difficult for the visitors when from the resultant scrum Cam were awarded a penalty which Smarty dabbed into the corner and the resultant lineout catch and drive saw our Ozzie Mole claim the first points of the afternoon with only 5 mins on the clock and with many of those lunching still making their way to the pitch.
The Horsham restart probably told the story of the game when they actually reclaimed their own kick on the Cam 10m but the subsequent phases saw them actually driven back at every stage and in desperation the visitors eventually decided to kick as they had lost more than 20m in the series of plays.
With just 14 mins played their kicker opted to narrow the gap with a penalty from half way and was a tad unfortunate when his excellent kick faded to the right of the posts.
Cam almost added to their score when Oyoni, back from injury was clean through only to be brought back for an offside call and the next play saw probably the critical point of the game when the Horsham skipper was shown red following him joining a ruck which left Musa with a sore head.
Cam then launched a series of attacks with Musa and then Shawa held up just short and following a very physical charge by Ozzie Mole, Musa went over in the corner for another unconverted try on 20 mins.
The restart saw Cam kick deep and great kick chase saw BLS strip the Horsham player and a couple of passes saw Brizzle charge through to touch down for an excellent try converted by Smarty making the score 17-0 after just 22 mins in fact the try followed so quickly that the tee man was still messing around behind the Horsham goal line - he knows who he was !!!
The bonus point try came 5 mins later when Dom made meters, running like a wrecking ball, knocking opposition players down in the process and when a score was almost certain the final pass was adjudged to be forward but the huge lock was not to be outdone and a huge drive at the resultant scrum saw Birdy pick up at the base of the scrum to cross the line only for the official to request that they do it all again – which is precisely what happened and again a strike against the head and Birdy claiming the try saw Cam claim the tbp and with Smarty adding the extras the score moved to 24-0 on 30 mins. The remainder of the half saw the visitors begin to struggle as the loss of a body began to tell and despite several attempts they were not able to make any progress while Cam already seemed to be relaxing and there was no further scoring in the half although a lovely break by Harry should have resulted in a try but the pass was just too good for Oyoni.
Risey decided to ring the changes at the break bringing on Baz and Pickett who had both been giving their own comments on proceedings for the entire first half and their presence was soon felt on the park.
Cam were soon on the attack and from a 5m lineout a great catch and drive saw Baz claiming the touch down with just 3 mins played and when Cam absolutely destroyed the visitors pack on halfway following the restart the resultant penalty saw Smarty 'going big' and nailing the 5m lineout. Again the story was the same a textbook catch and drive with Baz again claiming the score and the scoreboard showing 36-0 on 50 mins.
It was almost inevitable that the black an ambers would at some time take their eyes off the ball and on 70 and 75 mins the plucky visitors claimed 2 converted tries and with that the outside possibility of a tbp.
However that was their moment in the spotlight as from the restart BLS stripped the Horsham player and when the ball was moved to Brizzle he cleverly changed the point of attack before feeding Harry whose break saw him able to draw the last defender before putting Oyoni through.
We then saw Baz switch to #8 and the next score was not long coming when Oyoni make a great break before passing to Ash to dot down and that wasn't the end as an exquisite break around halfway saw young Harry display his silky running and his great pace as he carved his way through a faltering defence for a great individual try on 78 mins.
Cam decided that they wanted more and straight from the restart they started to move the ball towards the Horsham half and we saw you Shawa who, with his mate BLS, had been absolutely outstanding all game, suddenly shake things up when, from half way, his pace and amazing choice of line saw him make the 50m without scarcely a defensive hand laid on him and with the opposition out on their feet we saw the restart collected cleanly in the Cam 22 and quick hands saw Ash make good ground before releasing Musa on halfway for the winger/hooker to outpace everyone and dot down under the posts and with Smarty adding the extras a final tally of 11 tries to a well deserved and professional display which maintains their place in the promotion race.

This was a really good performance for most of the 80 mins by Cam and the red card should not detract from the quality of rugby they showed throughout the game. Skipper Birdy was happy with the team's efforts and believed that his boys had stepped up a level from last weeks win at Cornish. It is also promising to see so many first timers (or almost) slotting is so easily which of course is even more critical with our current injury list.
So, as it often is, the forwards must take credit for much of today's result with Ryan at just 19 again showing what a great prop he can become, Murph thoroughly enjoying his first start for the club and Ozzie Greg again showing how important his contribution is every week. Big Dom and Sam worked tirelessly in the row while Birdy had probably his best game at 8 while Shawa and BLS were amazing, having played together through the juniors and Academy it was great to watch them working together – I particularly liked the 2 man tackles with Shawa going around the ankles and BLS going higher and often stripping the ball.
Tom and Smarty at half back both had solid games and kept things under control at least some of the time and with Jaid and Harry in particular outstanding, Ash, Oyoni and Musa had plenty of opportunities.

So next week we travel to Cobham and the message will no doubt be clear that the squad must keep up the pressure they are quietly building.

Just a quick note on the official who clearly is looking to move up through the levels, no comments on the game but we should all applaud his attitude as I discovered that he covers all of his games using public transport which often means that he is travelling for up to 4 hours on a Saturday so that we can enjoy a game – what dedication.

And Finally – well all good things come to end as the C&Ws came up just short on Friday against the Chiefs in a game which, with a bit more composure, was theirs for the taking so with a break for a couple of weeks they will be able to refresh and regroup.

Pic by Dinger shows skipper Birdy scoring bonus point try