St Ives vs. Bedford Queens
Saturday saw St Ives entertain Bedford Queens in a muddy encounter at Somersham Road. Heavy rain overnight had left the pitch in a soggy condition, but this did not dampen the spirits of the home side in a game where St Ives knew that they were a match for their third place opponents.
Unfortunately the first 10 minutes of the game did not go to plan; Queens came out of the blocks like a runaway steam train and caught St Ives unawares not once but twice in quick succession. These 2 converted tries saw St Ives go down 14-0 without even touching the ball - not the most ideal situations to be in! Thankfully the Bulls did not crumble and immediately launched a counter offensive to get the game back on their terms. A series of strong drives and an excellent catch and drive from the line out found St Ives cross the line; unfortunately James Cannon lost control when crossing the line and handed possession over to Queens. Not wanting to be undone the St Ives pack knuckled down and drove the opposition back over their line to regain possession and from the resulting scrum Lee Jackson was on hand to pounce on the ball and score St Ives' first points of the day. Adam Clark made the conversion and the fight back had begun.
What happened next was a sickening blow to the St Ives squad. Paul Spencer on the attack twisted awkwardly in the tackle and had to be stretchered off the field immediately with a suspected broken leg. Thankfully initial scans ruled out the possibility of a break but it is unlikely he will play again this season. A quick reshuffle to the backline saw James Cannon return to centre and Tom Milner enter the fray at back row.
St Ives were next to strike once again with the forwards enjoying domination in the scrum and creating space for the back to attack. The try came from a stolen line out, with the backs quick to make use of the gifted possession the ball found its way to John Paxton who burst through the defensive line and scored next to the posts giving Adam Clark and easy shot at goal. This brought the scores level at 14 a piece with 10 minutes of the half to play. St Ives were then caught on the break once again, with Queens managing to slip a tackle and score out wide. The conversion attempt was too much though and Queens crept ahead once more. But it was St Ives who answered back with the final kick of the game, Adam Clark slotting a penalty over to keep St Ives in reach and finish the half 2 points behind 17-19
St Ives were now playing up the hill and strong defence from both sides kept the free scoring of the previous 40 minutes at bay, some ill discipline from both sides saw Gez Gilburt sin binned for 10 mutes, closely followed by Lee Jackson and his opposing scrum half. Despite this depletion in numbers, St Ives struck first; a deft chip from Adam Clark found Marc Sands out wide who slid over to put St Ives ahead once again. Unfortunately Adam missed the conversion but the Bulls were ahead 22-19.
With both teams back to full strength and 10 minutes left to play Queens were next to go on the offensive. Some stout defence from the home side was managing to keep the opposition at bay, but eventually it was too much. After a period of sustained pressure Queens managed to suck in enough defence and created the space out wide allowing them to score the vital points, with the successful conversion putting them ahead 22-26. This ended up being the final score, with St Ives battling hard in the last 5 minutes, but unable to find the gap to get through.
Speaking after the game Captain Ross Thompson was positive despite the loss. We lost this game in the first 10 minutes, I believe that we played the better rugby for the remainder of the game but we can't afford to loose 14 points so early on. The injury to Paul is a killer blow too, I hope that he will recover quickly and return to action in the near future.