Ely 0 - 48 Newmarket

After a six week lay off because of the winter weather Newmarket showed suprisingly little sign of rustiness and ran in 8 tries without reply against a gallant Ely side.

Playing with the slope in the first half Newmarket quickly took the lead. Ben Jeacock crashed over the line, only to be adjudged to have knocked on, but from the 5 metre scrum the ball went along the line and Jack Watson set up full-back Ashley Reed to score under the posts. Joe Stafford added the first of his 4 conversions, which he later matched with 4 tries.

For most of the match Newmarket played a very narrow game with the forwards keeping the ball tight and Stafford almost playing the No. 10 position as an extra forward. It quickly resulted in the away side doubling the lead as Stafford started and finished a move for the second try with good support from the strong-running Dan Bristow.

Jeacock was again unlucky when he narrowly missed touching down Stafford's delicate chip over the Ely defence but with the home side unable to get away from their own line it was inevitable that another try would come. This time it was from the ever-alert Anton Phillips who pounced on the loose ball to score.

The fourth try was probably the best of the match and came from the unlikeliest of positions. Ely put up a high kick and Gwilym Davies, in his own half, slipped as he turned. Somehow he managed to catch the ball on the ground, avoid a tackle and pop the ball up to Reed. The Newmarket support play was excellent and eventually the ball went out to Matt Marsh who out-sprinted the defence to score in the corner.

Bristow followed the same route a few minutes later but had the extra space to run around and touch down under the posts to complete the first-half scoring.

In the second half the Newmarket backs began to see a little more ball and there were some strong runs and slick passing, notably from Nathan Buckle. But it was still the forwards who had the cutting edge and Ethan Brown soon put Stafford in for a try from short-range.

Ely's response was immediate and they had by far their best passage of play as they pinned Newmarket back on their own try line. Eventually they crossed it but their powerful No. 8 was held up by sterling defence and Newmarket smuggled the ball away with Bristow putting in a long clearing kick.

Newmarket again had territorial advantage and Stafford saw another opportunity to chip over the defence. This time he followed up himself and was able to dribble the ball over he line and score. He then completed his personal tally by scoring the final try in the opposite corner following good work by newcomer, George Rowley.

The match was much enjoyed by a large crowd of Newmarket MAGS.