Sat 11 Feb 2023
On the same day that the top two teams, in the world went to to toe, and produced and absolute thriller the match at Cross in hands also produced its own pulsating nailbiter and for the second week on the bounce, the CABs fell the wrong side of the scoreboard by a single point. With Ivybridge taking the definitive lead in the final play of the match. For everyone involved it was a brilliant game of rugby, with both sides attack clearly working better than their defence as the game followed the pattern of the CABs taking the lead and Ivybridge figthing back to always keep the match within a score and for the CABs this ultimately lead to their downfall; not burying a team (ie by getting two significant scores in a row) or maintaining the pressure on the opposition's defence.
Ironically, the first score came as a result of some impressive CABs defence, with wave after wave of a black wall of defenders hurrying and hassling the home side, till eventually a dropped pass was gratefully picked up by Dan Pearce to dot down and a superb conversion from the touchline indicated his kicking boots were going to be on a hot streak! The following period was very much played out with both teams trying to impose their style on the game; Ivybridge looking to use their power runners up a couple of times and then use Charlie Byrant's (Ivybridge 13) running lines to cause problems. The CABS very much wanting to use their forward drives and be as direct as possible, before unleashing the pace of Pearce, James Tucker & Conrad Burne. It was Ivybridge that did manage to break the stalemate with a trademark break from Bryant to bring the score to 5-7. A series of penalties enabled the CABs to extend the lead to 13-5 with a few minutes of the half to play. The drives were being defended well, by Ivybridge and their scrum was going well. A crucial score came right at the end of the half, with Ivybridge managing to get the ball back from a misclearance and No.8 Adam Northcott barged over near the posts following some strong carries.
Half-time and the focus was on not getting dragged into the Ivybridge game, especially on a dry day and a very fast 4G pitch. The CABs also looked to tighten up their driving maul game & also make sure that the next key score was the CABs. Unfortunately, Ivybridge had other ideas and an uncontested lineout gave Ivybridge easy possession and a series of phases ended up with Ivybridge taking the lead. But, the CABs responded immediately and a scrum penalty gave the CABs a lineout and some strong drives gave captain Lloyd Duke the chance to score near the posts. This microcosm of the start of the half, was pretty much how the the game panned out. One team scoring, then the other responding within minutes.
So, the game came down to the final minute; Ivybridge hammering at the line, but some strong defence resulted in the CABs regaining possession and instead of sticking to the direct game plan and just keeping it simple, some loose passing gave Ivybridge a scrum just outside the 22 and the last play was called by the ref. The ball came out to the Ivybridge 15 and he made a strong powerful surge to the line; he was stopped but a penalty infringement gave the home side a lineout opportunity. The drive was on and with all the Ivybridge backs joined in to force the ball over and grounded. For CABs, this was a really tough one to take as they had led for the bulk of the game and played some really good rugby. However, it was the fact that the opposition were able to stay in the game that ultimately cost and for the second week a one point game went the way of the opposition.
