Army Outgun Blues

Blues 7 – 20 Army

The Blues slumped to their second defeat in seven days against a determined Army team. New captain Jimmy Richards and his Blues team-mates lacked precision and power in a rather dull affair of crown versus gown.

The match began with a sign of things to come as the Blues pack were crushed in the opening scrum. Throughout the game the Cambridge tight five were unable to compete with their opposite numbers and scrums became a foregone conclusion.

The Army’s forwards dominated in the loose too and after a prolonged period of pressure in the Cambridge 22 the Army were awarded a penalty. Fly half Ben McNeil slotted it between the uprights to put the visitors 3-0 up.

Cambridge were quick to fight back. Live-wire fly half Jimmy Richards stepped two defenders and, but for a questionable forward pass decision, Will Balfour would have been away.

The Blues quickly regained possession and Richards again danced his way through the leaden-footed army centres. The Blues man was brought down just short of the line but Cambridge still had an opportunity to score.

However the chance was blown as the ball was shifted blind from the ruck, leaving flanker Ed White with seven defenders to beat. Too many even for the “Bear”.

The Blues were inevitably frustrated by their unrewarded efforts. Richards tried to force the issue and gave a away a penalty for holding on after getting isolated. The Army’s fly-half slotted the three points to give his side a 6-0 lead going into the interval.

After the break the Army came out all guns blazing. Their forwards bulldozed their way through the midfield, opening up holes as the Blues defence was sucked in.

This allowed the Army backs were able to cut up the bedraggled Blues back line and centre Danny Couts finished off the move.

This proved to be the wake-up call the home side needed. The Blues worked their way into their opponent’s 22 and looked set to score. But hooker Jamie Gilbert’s haymaker on his opposite number was spotted by the ref and the Cambridge man was duly sent to the sin bin. The resulting penalty saw the Army kick themselves to safety.

Yet it was not long before the Blues opened their account. Wayward passing amongst the Army back line saw James Greenwood pounce on the loose ball, with substitute Miles “so bevved” Daly finishing off the counter-attack.

Jamie Hood converted the try and with the arrival of Ben “Boyband” Wilson things seemed to be looking up for the Blues.

Unfortunately, the Blues’ lack of composure as they approached the try line prevented them from gaining the lead. A quick tapped penalty by Jamie Hood saw the Blues make it to within inches of the Army line only for the ball to be lost as Greenwood, struck by white-line-fever, lunged for a try.

The game was up for the Blues. The Army closed out the match in the Cambridge 22 and another penalty against the Blues’ impotent scrum was taken quickly as the Army finished the match with a converted try.

While Cambridge’s lack of precision and power were the key reasons for their loss some Corpus students pinpointed another reason for Blues’ failure. One Corpus student who does not wish to be named told The Tab, ” Our women’s sevens team can tackle better than Will Balfour”.

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