Fixture

Storm Eunice Blows Away the Cobwebs at Cae

Stormy and muddy conditions greeted both sides at Caedelyn and it was obvious the wind would play a big part in the outcome of the match.

The Squizzers had the advantage in the first half, playing towards the Fire Station end with the wind behind them.  Good early pressure from the kick-off found them camped on the Cambrian try line and, working the ball patiently from left to right saw Joe Gale shrug off defenders to get over the line for a try, which went unconverted.

 Supporters from both sides had to wait another 15 minutes for another score – but it was worth it.  A rampaging break saw Tom Slocombe, with two defenders in close attendance, work his way up the centre of the field and off load to Joe Gale on his left who arced in behind the posts for his second try of the game.  Charlie Elton made no mistake with the conversion to put the Squizzers up 12-0.

Cambrian were defending strongly in the face of the wind, but they also posed a threat in attack and just before half time they worked their way to Scoreboard Corner for their evergreen No.6 Richie Lewis (“I’m 38 and too old for this stuff, mate” he told me at half time) to scramble over for a try.  Julian Huntley was unable to convert – score went to 12-5.

The Squizzers moved back onto the offensive and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Charlie popped over to make the half time score 15-5.

Second half and the Squizzers came out from Hobbsy’s Palace with a plan and evidently stuck to it.  Carry the ball, run it against the wind – it made for an entertaining 40 minutes.  Tireless work from forwards Chris Williams, Ollie Collis, Olly Golding, Sion Parry, Charlie White and skipper Dabbzy set the platform for Dave Gilbert to feed quick ball for the backs to work with.  Tom Dawkes, Elliot Jones, Tom Slocombe, James Mitchell, Tom Greenwood and Joe Gale all took their opportunities to attack – but Cambrian’s defence held strong.

Dabbzy thought that he’d crossed the whitewash for a try but was ruled to have come up short, much to his annoyance. It was only a minute later though that the Squizzers did cross the line for a well-deserved score from the irrepressible Chris Williams after strong, controlled approach work by the pack.  Charlie duly converted and took the score to 22-5.

There was enough time to see Cambrian launch a few attacks on the Squizzers line but the defence was well marshalled and kept them at bay.  A couple of scuffles spiced up the latter minutes of the match with a yellow card for Julian Huntley of Welfare for foul play. 

All in all, a solid performance in the conditions and a lot of smiles (and mud) on the Squizzers faces and their supporters (even the scoreboard operator!) at game end.  Well done Squizzers!