After two successive league defeats, Ely Tigers looked to get back on track when bottom side Woodbridge visited Cambridge Commodities Park, again the home side were forced into changes to the starting 15.
The game started brightly for the home with the forward line on the front foot, with Nathan Brookes breaking clear only to be pulled back by the referee after an infringement, and it was from the restart that Woodbridge took full advantage, a high kick forward from their 22 meter line bounced kindly for the visiting forward who raced forward to cross the try line, with the conversion added to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long, as Ely crossed the try line with George Newman going under the post, to give Jake Alsop the chance to draw the Tigers level, with the extra points converted, Ely from the restart started to apply pressure and it was no surprise when they took the lead, with Adam Tallack fed the ball to Mitch Kennett who crossed the try line, with Alsop adding the extra points, on the next drive the lead was extended further, with captain Matt McCarthy freeing Alfie Ramswell who jumped over a lunging tackle to cross the line in the corner, Alsop failed to add the extra points, midway thru the half and with Ely leading 19-7, the bonus point try was just around the corner, with Kennett scoring his second of the afternoon after finding space in the back line, again Alsop added the extra, as Woodbridge heads started to drop, the next try was soon to come as Tom Green went over the line, despite two Woodbridge backs trying the best to hold him up under the posts, with Alsop able to add the extra points.
The Ely forward line looked to be back to its best after a few stuttering performances of late, and the next try was possibly the best of the afternoon, with the forward line moving the ball from side to side and with the use of some quick hands and a one handed lay off from Ryan Clark to Brookes, saw Brookes cross over to score his first try of the afternoon, again Alsop added the extra points, before the half time break there was still chance for a further try, with Kennett adding his third of the afternoon, after some good work along the wing by Ramswell, again the extra points were added to give Ely a 47-7 lead going into the break.
The second half started much like the first, it seemed like Ely had switched off, allowing Woodbridge to cross the try line, very much like the start of the first half, but this time the conversion was missed, but from this point, the home side went up a gear, and it seemed like each visit to the Woodbridge half that the home side would score.
McCarthy scored two tries in quick succession, and with Alsop converting the extra points, the score board soon passed the 60 point mark, further tries from Newman, Kennett, his fourth and fifth of the afternoon, Coupland, Brookes, his second, and Green, his second, the later pushing the scoreboard to the 103 point mark, soon after the referee called time on the game as Tigers run out 103-12 winners.
The win leaves Tigers 5th in the league, 5 points off second placed Newmarket, with a game in hand, and that game in hand comes on Saturday, 20th, when they play Wisbech at home, kick off 3pm.
Press release from Ely Tigers Rugby Club
Photo credit: Steve Wells
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