In the first match for Cambridge since 22nd November it was a delight to be playing and a bonus to have a mild temperature and sun throughout the fixture. Some degree of rust was expected and this was evident noticeably in the scoreless first half but by the end of the game Cambridge, well led by tight head Billy O’Reilly, had imposed themselves on the home team and deserved their win, by 2 converted tries to one, a consolation effort scored in the last seconds.

The first half saw Cambridge totally dominate territory and such was the margin of superiority that it was only in the last minute that Ely with a significant weight advantage in the pack managed to break out of their half. Territorial domination did not however transfer into points. The real problem for Cambridge was in securing quick ball at the breakdown; the slow ball saw scrum half Hamish Pottinger under pressure and when the ball was released to the backs there was a distinct tendency to run laterally. Highlights included an exemplary level of effort from the pack, some superb tacking, noticeably from Tomas Kucevicius, counter attacks from full back Steve Archibald and Chris Newbery, playing on the wing, taking a ferocious covering tackle and bouncing back looking for more work. Half time provided the opportunity to examine what was working and to make changes. The impact was evident from the start of the second half when the ball was released quickly to the backs and the Ely defence was sorely tested. With no score after 65 minutes it was increasingly clear that one score would win the match. This appeared to come from Steve Archibald who must have thought he had scored but was inches short of the line. With 10 minutes remaining the breakthrough came. The pack was camped on the Ely line. Billy O’Reilly crashed over from at least two foot but was unable to ground the ball. The resulting scrum saw quick ball giving half a yard to inside centre George Lee who cut inside and scored under the posts. He’s done that before. Adding the conversion Cambridge entered the last 9 minutes with the vital lead. Things got even better when with 4 minutes remaining Gareth Baxter made significant yardage into a tiring Ely defence, was half tackled on the 22 before passing to Billy O’Reilly to bulldoze over. The prop will claim it was from much further out. With the successful conversion, the second by George Lee, Cambridge lead 14-0 and the game was effectively over. Any win is a good win. Given the layers of rust this was better.

Cambridge Scorers:

George Lee (1 try,  2 conversions)
Billy O'Reilly (1 try)

Alistair Mack