Cam Overcome Conditions to Complete Double in Local Derby

So the weather forecasts for the afternoon were dire and the ground was very soft but the Rain Gods looked kindly on those assembled for Harry and Chris Gibson's sponsored game and the downpour ceased at precisely 13.58, not to return for the remainder of the proceedings.

So with the 1s having their first game for 4 weeks we saw the black and ambers playing away from the clubhouse receiving the kick off. With Sam taking thee kick off we quickly saw the visitors concede 2 penalties and Smarty kicking for the corner.
The initial lineout drive was stopped but Cam continued to pressure the Guildford line but the conditions and good D by the visitors kept them at bay for the first series of attacks.
In fact the visitors backs did not see any ball until the 10th minute but when they did they had no forward momentum and on 12 mins another series of Cam drives saw the ball swung wide to Oyoni whose physicality saw him crash over in the corner.
The game then turned into a real arm wrestle with Cam always seemingly in control but unable to capitalise on their territorial advantage.
Even at this stage it seemed that the visitors had no real cutting edge despite the encouragement of their coaching team who were further dismayed when their touch judge turned down all of their frantic appeals for a 50/22 lineout by claiming that the ball went into touch 23m from the Cam goal line – hopefully his lift home forgave him!!
The stalemate continued until just before half time when from a ruck in the Guildford 22 we saw skipper Tom dart through from the base of a ruck and it was a simple task to feed the supporting Hughsey who simply had to touch down under the posts and with Smarty adding the extras the score moved to 12-0 which was the score at the break.

The second half saw Cam emerge from their cup of tea with clean shirts and within 2 minutes a great run by George collecting a defensive kick saw the winger take a superb line carving through the visitors defence before drawing the last defender and putting Brizzle in for a try under the posts and with Smarty adding the extras the score had moved to 19-0.
Cam at this stage were certainly on top and after a period in the Guildford red zone we saw a great scrum crossing the whitewash with #8 Ed Grosvenor claiming the touch down on 50 mins and the tbp.
Again Cam soon found themselves in the visitors 22 and from a driving lineout maul Marvin claimed the score in clubhouse corner and we saw Smarty hit the crossbar in conditions which were terrible for kickers.
So with the score 29-0 the plan should have been to ensure that the visitors did not score but the message did not get to the players as, from the restart, Guildford ran back a defensive kick from halfway and poor commitment in the tackle saw them claim a try under the posts on 62 mins which was really a wake up call to the black and ambers who, to their credit ,ensured that this error was not repeated.
By now the cam scrum was clearly on top but Tom and Smarty were still keen to throw the ball out wide and this policy paid off again when another great break by George saw him this time feed Ash who dotted down under the posts and so with Smarty adding the extras the score was 36-7 after 62 mins.
At this stage of the proceedings both sides were beginning to flag as the horrendous conditions took their toll but there was time for another great try in clubhouse corner by Oyoni who, having received the ball on the Guildford 22, made it crystal clear that nothing would stop him as we saw defenders bounce off the winger as he made his way to the corner for his second score and a final score of 41 – 7.

This was another very good team performance by the black and ambers who, despite the conditions, had much too much fire power for the visitors who themselves had recorded a victory over the league leaders in December. The black and amber pack were outstanding on a day when it really was about getting down and dirty and the backs always threatened with George again showing his experience on several occasions two of which brought tries for his team mates.
It was also interesting that despite what in effect was a comfortable win in the end the coaches and players were already discussing how things could have been improved and with this sort of attitude training should be fun this coming week before our visit to Chichester next Saturday.

And Finally – for those of you who make it this far, you will know that I always include a piece on the C&Ws – well over the last few weeks we have seen them demolish Bath and Bristol, lose narrowly to a very good Queens side and today, in their first game of 2022 they visited Sorries, where they have not managed a W for 13 seasons. However, today, on the plastic, they managed the tightest of victories 24-25 to make the whole world Cherry and White – at least for this weekend!!

The 2s unfortunately drew the short straw as they kicked off at 13.30 in their game against Totts and so had to endure a real downpour but it proved an interesting statement on the club's progress this season when their team sheet included the names of Bazza, The Warrior, The Flying Fijian and Murph to name but 4 pretty regular 1st teamers. In the event they proved to be much too good for the visitors and won 49-8 in a very one sided contest played in absolutely atrocious conditions.

In the absence of Dinger the best I could manage was a pic of Oyoni and H relaxing during a break in proceedings with Smarty socialising on the touch line.

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