VPs royally entertained

In a game of the proverbial two halves, St. Ives came away with a comfortable win against stout opposition in front of an admiring crowd of former players and spectators.
For the first few minutes, Ives struggled to find their feet, or indeed primary possession. Queens were unable to capitalise, however. Finally getting hold of the ball and keeping it, the hosts carried to within 5 metres only to be stopped illegally. Opting for a scrum, Ives swept the ball to Albiee Tayedzerwa out wide. In the act of going for the line, he was clothes-lined and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.
Shortly afterwards, another patient build up with continuity between forwards and backs gained the upper hand for the Bulls. The pressure finally told as Tommy Newman received the ball with a big gap in front of him and sauntered over for a fine team try, converted by Paul Ashbridge.
For the next 15 minutes, Queens showed their mettle. They pounded the home line, putting pressure on the set piece. Ben Fleming starting at full back was peppered with high balls, but was well up to the task. Ives were hanging on and, in truth, a couple of chances should have been converted by the visitors. But, the Bulls held them out.
Breaking the siege, the Bulls were amply rewarded when the ample Duncan Williams found himself of the end of a sweeping end to end passage of play and scored under the posts, converted by Ashbridge.
Immediately from the kick off, Newman fed the surging Ollie Raine who galloped upfield ball under arm. With crowd expecting a final sidestep for a score Raine was hauled down five short. The ball was quickly recycled, and whipped to Ashbridge who stepped inside to score, converting also.
In one final act of the half, the Queens 10, who had been struggling to contain his frustration with events, was yellow carded for some off the ball handbags.
Half time 28-0
Maybe it was having reached the bonus point playing against the elements, but St. Ives were somewhat taken aback by a strong second half performance by Queens. Altering their game plan, the visitors stopped kicking and played with the ball up their shirts. Ives were guilty of a couple of penalties which took Queens to within 5. After a few minutes pressing, the forwards managed to tumble over the line to score deserved points.
This spurred the Bulls on. Leaping like a salmon, Raine collected the restart and Ives were back in possession. Small margins prevented a score, and Queens were able to take the attack back upfield. Again, patient defence by the home side ultimately saw Queens cough up the ball.
Ives fought their way into the opposition half. The patterns were working well to gain ground and Mickey Drake finally found himself with room enough to step the midfield defence and sprint through to score under the posts, converted by Ashbridge.
Entering the final quarter, John Naylor went for a dart in the 15 metre channel, beating the initial defence. He drew the last cover and the ball was swiftly transferred to Tayedzerwa who sprinted to ground in the corner.
The last minutes were a tough battle for the hosts as Queens showed great heart and determination to get something out of the game. Kicking a penalty to the corner, a maul was initially well defended, but Ives line was finally breached after a series of battering runs by the Queens forwards.
Whilst this was the final act of which your scribe was aware, Ives had been awarded A.N.other try to complete the scoring.
Skipper Ollie Bartlett was a content but tired man at the final whistle. “That was a much harder contest than the score suggests. Queens were tough opponents and we did well to stick to our plans and also keep them down to two tries. We look forward to another test at Rushden next week.”