Cambridge 12 – 55 Newmarket

Newmarket put in a very complete performance to overwhelm Cambridge in every phase of the game. The home side struggled to cope with the strong running of the Newmarket forwards and backs. The tone was set in the first minute as Dan Bristow collected the ball from the kick off and shook off tackler after tackler until brought down 10 metres from the line. From the subsequent scrum Chris Le picked up and proved unstoppable from short range. Joe Stafford kicked the first of his five conversions.

Newmarket quickly doubled their lead as a long kick from Stafford was chased down by fullback Toby Colletta. He disrupted the Cambridge attempt to re-gather the ball and forced a fumble that allowed Stafford to complete the move with the simplest pick up and score.

Following a short period where Cambridge had the upper hand, the backs got into their stride. Iain Moffat proved hard to stop and Nathan Buckle deserved a try for a powerful straight run from inside centre. However, when he was brought down, Le was on hand to pick up his second score. It looked as if the match was going to be almost entirely the second row show as first Bristow crashed over and then Le completed his hat trick following good work by Dan Downing. Newmarket went into the half-time break with a 31 point lead.

In the first half Newmarket had been quick to the tackle and had starved Cambridge of good quality ball. However, they were nearly caught out from the second half kick off. It was only bravery by Buckle on his own try line that stopped Cambridge retrieving the ball and scoring. From the subsequent penalty Newmarket were soon back in the opposition half. Jack Watson got close to the line but some great defence by Cambridge turned over the ball. They were slightly unlucky that their attempted clearance kick was charged down by Ethan Brown who showed admirable alertness to follow up and touchdown before the home defence could respond.

Despite the mounting scoreline, Cambridge were far from done. With their backs tending to run across the pitch rather than straight, they had struggled to make much impression in open play and had made it easy for the Newmarket wings Moffat and Gwilym Davies to close them down with some solid tackling. But the home side's quicker thinking resulted in two tries from tapped penalties following infringements by Newmarket close to their own line. Those proved to be their only scores and  sandwiched another Newmarket try. With Stafford taking every opportunity to put the home team on the back foot with long kicks, replacement Jack Felton proved adept at chasing them down on the wing. Buckle, Watson and finally Stafford then gave a master class in keeping the ball alive as the backs combined for the sixth try.


With the front row of Olly Sanusi-Bartlett, Downing and Tom Wills solid at the scrum and flankers Ben Jeacock and Ashley Reid disrupting Cambridge possession, Newmarket continued to secure plenty of ball and that continued when new recruit Charles Curtis came on for his first match. Scrum half Lewis Heap was controlling the pace of the game from the set pieces but it was Bristow who again proved unstoppable as he recovered the ball from the ruck and out-paced the defence to score under the posts.

Newmarket's final try was scored by Reid. A series of hand offs took him past the Cambridge defence to crash over the whitewash and bring the match to an end. It was deserved reward for an excellent all round performance that also brought him the man of the match award.

Sunday 29th November - Cambridge (Away)

Sunday's match against Cambridge is confirmed. Kick off 11.30am. Please meet at 10.30.

Directions to Cambridge ground at http://www.crufc.co.uk

Cambridgeshire 27 - 14 Norfolk

Congratulations to Chris Le, Jack Watson, Joe Stafford and Aiden Cooper on being selected for the County.

Cambridgeshire withstood a late Norfolk rally to record a comfortable win at a blustery Davey Field. The pre-match downpour made us all feel grateful that Cambridge scrumhalf Noah was in the squad but mercifully the elements relented before kick off, allowing both sides to play some good rugby.

The question for the Cambs supporters was whether a team comprised of such fierce local rivals could gel when playing together. This question was answered in the affirmative immediately. From the kick off Norfolk shipped the ball to a strong running centre. He was smartly upended by his opposite number, Cambridge's Ryan Headington and the ball was expertly 'jackaled' by Shelford's Sam Jones. With possession turned over Cambs drove the length of the pitch and created an opening for Newmarket's Aiden Cooper to dive over by the post. Headington added the extra points from the conversion and Cambs were up and running and looking a well-drilled cohesive unit.

Buoyed by the early score Cambridgeshire were completely dominant in the first half. The pack were especially impressive. The front row of Curtis, Picton-Turbervill and Pratt dominated their much bigger opponents, winning several scrums against the head. The power and ball carrying ability of second rows Cooper and Le drove Norfolk backwards and the mobile back row unit of Giles, Walker and Dingwall was first to every loose ball.

More tries were inevitable - a flowing passing move made a try in the corner for left winger George Smith. Scrum half Harry Hitchcock burrowed over from a goal line ruck. Finally just before the interval Ryan Headington picked up a loose ball and ran powerfully through the Norfolk midfield to make the score 22-0.

The second half was a different story as Norfolk upped their intensity at the breakdown and started to get on top at the lineout. Their big pack started to make inroads round the fringes and they snatched a try from a ruck close to the Cambs goalline.

With possession much more even in the second half chances for Cambs were rarer. However Cambs skipper Sam Jones seized on a moment of disorganisation in the Norfolk defence to slip through a gap. A couple of outrageous dummies later Sam had outwitted the covering defenders and dived over the line to restore the twenty point margin.

Undaunted by this reverse Norfolk drove on, aided by the wind at their backs and an astute forward based game. The reward was another converted close range try which gave respectability to the scoreline.

Ultimately Cambs ran out 27-14 winners - but credit to both sides for playing good quality rugby in difficult windy conditions.

Newmarket 0 – 65 Diss

With key players away on County duty, Newmarket were slightly unfortunate to meet by far the strongest team they have faced this season. However, they could have no complaints about the result as Diss proved quicker, stronger and more determined in all phases of the game, and the home team put in a performance that was well below par.

Newmarket were always on the back foot and trying to make something from scraps of possession. The Diss forwards and backs ran hard and straight. While most of the Newmarket team made an occasional good stop, they could not stem the tide. The missed tackle count grew enormously and largely accounted for the six tries that Diss ran in during the first half.

After the turn around and playing with the slope and the wind, there were some signs that Newmarket might get back into the game. The forwards began to win their own ball at the scrum and play was kept in the Diss half. However, they never really threatened the Diss try line and the overall pattern of the game was quickly re-established as the visitors took advantage of tiring home legs to run in a further five tries.

Dan Bristow was awarded man of the match for Newmarket and a special mention is also due to Jack Felton for some brave tackling in his first match for the club. Recent recruits Tom Wills and Ashley Reid were awarded their club ties after the match.

Sunday 22nd November: Diss match confirmed

Match against Diss at home this Sunday is confirmed. 10am meet for 11am kick off.

Peterborough 10 – 7 Newmarket

Much of the first half of this match was played in the middle third of the pitch as both teams struggled to dominate. The weight of Peterborough's pack was matched by the determination of the Newmarket forwards, with their captain, Jack Watson, leading by example to receive the man of the match award. Neither side was able to make good use of the ball and any opportunities that came to the backs were quickly snuffed out by their opposite numbers. It was no surprise that the game was scoreless at the break, though Newmarket were hampered by an injury to scrum-half Lewis Heap that ruled him out of the remainder of the match.

Newmarket started brightly in the second half and penned Peterborough near their own try line. With secure ball coming from the scrums, winger Iain Moffat was within metres of touching down on two occasions following charging runs by Joe Stafford and Nathan Buckle. The other Newmarket backs were equally committed with both Gwilym Davies and Tom Locke forcing turnovers in the tackle. However, failure to convert pressure into points cost Newmarket dear as Peterborough regained the ball near the halfway line and against the run of play their speedy outside centre sprinted clear for an unconverted breakaway try.

Newmarket responded strongly. Despite struggling with an injury, hooker Dan Downing and the props Tom Wills and Oliver Sanusi-Bartlett continued to secure loose ball that took them close to the home team's line. Peterborough did well to keep out a charge from Dan Bristow well-supported by Ben Jeacock and Ethan Brown, but as players were sucked in the ball came out to Buckle who straightened the line and laid it back for Stafford to crash over under the posts and notch up a two point lead.

It remained that way until the last play of the match. Facing a borrowed stand-in scrum half the Peterborough forwards were able to steal ball tapped back from the lineout. Twice they crossed the try line only to be held up by last-ditch Newmarket defence. On the second occasion the home side were awarded a penalty and this time Newmarket were unable to prevent the No. 13 from wriggling through for his second try and a narrow Peterborough victory.

Newmarket 14 – 14 Bury St Edmunds

Against a strong and so far undefeated Bury squad, Newmarket spent much of the match defending in their own half. Despite Bury frequently getting close to the line the Newmarket forwards scrapped hard to disrupt possession and the backs put in a series of try saving tackles.

It wasn't until the second half that Bury managed to cross the line from short range as they stretched the Newmarket defence from a five metre scrum. That added to the converted try scored by Bury in the first half.

When that first try went in it looked as if Newmarket would really struggle, but on the rare occasions when they were able to get on the front foot they looked very dangerous as both backs and forwards kept the ball alive. Following great link play Newmarket got very close to the Bury try line only be to be kept out. From a subsequent scrum Dan Bristow proved unstoppable, brushing off five players to crash over the line and end the first half with the match tied at 7 points each.

Newmarket started the second half in similar style and this time it was Chris Le who evaded the Bury defence to score under the posts. Newmarket retained the lead until the second Bury try was brilliantly converted from the touchline. In the last minute Bury thought they had snatched the match, only to see the score ruled out as the ball was not grounded.

Woodbridge 21 - 26 Newmarket

This was reported to be a fantastic performance by Newmarket in the driving rain.

21 points down at half-time, the match seemed already over. The second half proved an entirely different matter. Newmarket not only kept Woodbridge at bay but scored 4 tries (3 converted by Joe Stafford) to snatch victory.

Unfortunately no full match report or photographs are available for this fixture.