CRUFC 35 - 17 Coventry Full Report

A bonus point win for Cambridge signalled the end of a turbulent week for the club and the end of an era for this particular team.

With previous director of rugby Bob Crooks made redundant this week, and players contracts cancelled as of February 1st, it was always going to be a difficult afternoon at Volac Park, but the team put together by Danny Hunter and Gareth McComb delivered the goods and five tries to boot.
Coventry never looked in danger of winning, so it was something of a surprise to find the score at 28-27 with two minutes left on the clock.
A penalty try looked to have given the visitors at least a losing bonus point and a slim chance of victory. Cambridge rallied, as they had all game, and stormed back for a penalty try of their own to seal the win, but the match could well have been done and dusted before that point.

Will Lawson opened the scoring for Cambridge after 10 minutes, touching down in the corner for Elliot Bale to convert.
Elliot Read had opened the scoring with a penalty for Coventry two minutes earlier, and nudged his side back in contention with a 22nd minute drop goal. However, with their tails up, Cambridge added two more before the break through McComb and young prop Ben Cooper. Bale converted both for a deserved half-time lead.

Lawson in particular had a fine game in midfield, but Bale’s link play edged out the centre for man of the match.

Read’s try and conversion for Coventry an hour in kept them in contention, but Bale put the finishing touch to a series of phases for the Blood & Sand’s bonus point score. Then Cov’s  James Wybrow provided the man out wide for the visitors third to set up a nervous last ten minutes.

Penalty tries traded, and Bale’s final conversion sealing the match, Cambridge, in their present form, signed off with a flourish.
Home chairman Steve Bowller, who had installed former skipper Glenn Remnant as team manager for the remainder of the season  before the kick-off, was understandably elated and optimistic afterwards.

“It was a terrific, and welcome, win. It's business as usual at Cambridge" said Bowller. "To put the record straight we are solvent but chose to tell the players in advance we would have to stop paying wages after the end of January. This is the club that show-cased Ben Spencer. He was contracted to us for this season and when the chance came for him to join Saracens we were thrilled. If anyone thinks they have potential to play in National 1 then contact me now.”

The watching Remnant was equally enthused: “There’s a lot of talent out there – the big thing was the commitment, which was really nice to see. If you’ve got a rugby club, and a rugby  team, with that kind of passion then there’s a lot to work with. It’s an interesting transition for the club. Let’s get the boys out there, with their backs to the wall, and let’s see what happens.”

STAR MAN - Elliot Bale (Cambridge)

Attendance - 470

Referee - Richard John Kelly
 
Scorers
Cambridge
Tries: Lawson 10, McComb 24, Cooper 37, Bale 65, penalty 80+4
Conversions: Bale 11, 24, 38, 66, 80+5

Coventry
Tries: Read 57, Wybrow 72, penalty 78
Conversions: Read 58, 73, 79
Penalties: Read 8
Drop:goal: Read 22

Teams
Cambridge
Veenendaal, Ayrton, Lawson, Wheatcroft, Tapley, Bale (Dimmick 41, blood - reversed 52), D Hunter; Fidler, B Hunter (Taylor 66), Cooper, Ascroft-Leigh, Jenkins, McComb, Mayhew (Watson 55), Hipwell
Replacements: Stapleton, Dunn
Coventry
Russell, Sutherland, Green (Otutaha 57), Wybrow, Gregson (Stevens 57), Read, Barker; Weller, Ager (Harrop 61), Parkins, Mather, Weaver, Daynes, Miller, Tibbatts
Replacements: Beales, Whittle


STEVE JACKSON - BBC RADIO CAMBRIDGESHIRE & THE RUGBY PAPER