St. Ives 4 v 2 Biggleswade

The day started brightly as Thomas Johnson took possession up to the hosts line, a simple pass would have produced a score. St. Ives then spent several minutes camped close to the Biggleswade line, but the defence was admirable; however the pressure eventually told as the ball was moved wide following a series of scrums and lineouts with Thomas driving over the line. St. Ives were back on the attack from the restart, with some good driving mauls, Charlie Bowen made a good break, with the ball breaking loose, Thomas was on hand to pick up and crash over the line. The subsequent restart led to some Biggleswade pressure, but good tackling from George, Damon and the rest of the team kept them at bay; from one of the rucks St. Ives snaffled the ball, and quickly moved it to Adam Roberts who was able to run the length of the pitch to increase the lead. Some scrappy play from the Blues followed as they gave away silly penalties for handling in the ruck followed by a high tackle, resulting in more pressure for the home team. This was repelled though, and more good interplay led to Cullan making some good ground and with Thomas on hand they pushed for the line, he was stopped but it was Thomas who was able to pick the ball out of the next ruck and break through the defence to complete a fine hat-trick. HT: 4 – 0

The second half was less fruitful for the visitors, as the necessary changes took their toll and they found themselves on the back foot. Biggleswade duly crossed for their first try of the game. Slack handling presented the home side with the ball, and they drove strongly upfield again only to be prevented from scoring by another high tackle. The resulting penalty was well pressured by St. Ives, and they claimed the loose ball, but scrappy handling meant they couldn’t gain too many yards. Another unnecessary penalty enabled the home team to bundle the ball over the line despite good work from Harry Spittle. The closing minutes of the game saw both sides tackling like demons, with one crunching tackle from Thomas preventing Biggleswade closing to within one score. Zac was on hand to steal possession, and drive St. Ives back upfield as the game came to an end.