Charlie Saunders pounces to seal Cambridge University RUFC win over Steele-Bodger XV
Celebratory mood at Grange Road
Amidst all the conviviality and high jinks of a Steele-Bodger XV afternoon, there is a serious purpose.
Eleven tries keeps the Grange Road hoards happy, but where it leaves Cambridge University in their Varsity Match preparations is the bigger question.
It is the game that sends the Light Blues off to face Oxford at Twickenham and, in truth, there was an element of it being a full circle to the start of the Michaelmas Term games at Grange Road.
The Light Blues have built a resilience and defensive strength through their nine games, proving difficult for opponents to break down.
It stood them in good stead as they had chalked up six wins going into the clash with the Micky Steele-Bodger select side, but there is something about the fixture that can sometimes turn things upside down.
The merriment and revelry of the occasion seems to befit a free-flowing, running game and with more broken play and an unstructured game, tries are usually gratefully received by the masses.
And that brings it all back to the opening game of the campaign at Grange Road against Loughborough University.
On that night, despite it being the first Light Blues’ fixture, there was a great demonstration of attacking, running rugby.
The off-loads, link and phase play and recycling were on full show in the 26-21 win, and the same was the case against the Steele-Bodger XV – it was just there were a few thousand more there to witness it, or at least those that made it out of the marquees.
The students displayed their ability to craft scores from a variety of different means, and hinted that they are adding all the key elements to their game needed to win a Varsity Match.
But the defensive cohesion that has existed for much of the term deserted the university in patches, and the scratch side, led by Stefan Liebenberg, wasted no time in making good use of the space.
There were line breaks aplenty as the Bodgers ran through from all angles in the opening 20 minutes, and it was only thanks to some scrambling defence that they were kept out.
However, they were still able to get over the line three times during that spell.
Liebenberg was at the centre of the Bodgers’ bright start.
His short pass set up Saracens’ Charlie Watson to cross for the first try after three minutes.
A quick tap penalty from university captain Nick Koster led to the No 8 touching down within minutes, and Mike Phillips’ conversion made it 7-7.
However, after 10 minutes, a great deceptive, inside pass from Liebenberg put in Joey Patrick to touch down, with Sam Evans converting.
An initial break from Fin Creighton was then recycled wide for Blackheath’s Jake Spivey to go over in the corner to give the visitors a 21-7 lead.
Then the university started to tighten up, and turn on their own attacking game.
Koster picked up at the base of a scrum and, recycling possession, Joey Gatus was put in on the wing to touch down.
There was another flowing move in the 32nd minute, with the Light Blues going through the phases and maintaining their patience to finally put in Joe Story on the wing to score.
They had a 24-21 lead by half time as a catch and drive from a line-out led to Miles Huppatz grounding the ball.
After the break, there was some good improvisation by scrum-half Chris Bell who twice kicked on a loose ball and then a final knee allowed him to gather and race through to score, with Phillips’ conversion making it 31-21.
The select side were not finished though, and a neat inside step by Coventry’s Robbie Povey in the 22 gave him a sight of the try-line to touch down in the 63rd minute.
Nine minutes later, good build-up play driving for the line was rewarded by a try for Tynedale’s Chris Wearmouth, and Evans’ conversion made it 33-31 to the Steele-Bodger XV.
There was, though, to be one final try.
Replacement scrum-half Charlie Saunders threw a great dummy pass in the 22 to dart through and score between the posts, with Phillips’ conversion sealing the 38-33 win.
Next stop Twickenham on Thursday, December 6, and the showdown with Oxford University.
Cambridge University: Gatus; Story, King, Hennessey, Gnodde; Phillips, Liebenberg; MacCallum, Huppatz, Dean, Beckett, Hunter, Leonard, McMahon, Koster.
Replacements: Kelly, Dixon, Somers, Lindsay, Smart, Hargreaves, Saunders, Baines, Blick, Triniman, Moore.
Steele-Bodger XV: Creighton (Cambridge); Spivey (Blackheath), Povey (Coventry), Watson (Saracens), Patrick (Cambridge); Evans (Blackheath), Liebenberg (Blackheath); Hills (Leicester Tigers), Walliker (Ampthill), Ryan (Barnes), Wearmouth (Tynedale), Bond (Old Albanian), Ignarski (Cambridge), Dass (Barnes), Moore (Blackheath).
Replacements: Sturge, Searle, Smith.
Scorers: 3min Watson try – Evans con (0-7), 6 Koster try – Phillips con (7-7), 10 Patrick try – Evans con (7-14), 19 Spivey try – Evans con (7-21), 29 Gatus try (12-21), 32 Story try – Phillips con (19-21), 37 Dean try (24-21), 61 Bell try – Phillips con (31-21), 63 Povey try (31-26), 72 Wearmouth try – Evans con (31-33), 76 Saunders try – Phillips con (38-33).
Referee: Harry Walbaum.
