Tommy Compton helps Cambridge colts run riot

Four-try haul in win over North Walsham

Tommy Compton scored four tries as Cambridge colts triumphed 64-7 against North Walsham in the Eastern Counties Cup.

It was an ideal balance between the forwards and backs as the two units combined to run in multiple tries.

Gareth Edwards got the scoreboard running, with Jake Herrington converting, and a good angle from quick ruck ball and a dummy saw Fred Hughes dart in for Cambridge’s second.

Olly Maynard scampered clear for the third, and that was added to by a second for Hughes, which Max Burton converted.

Compton got his first after breaking through one-on-one, with Herrington converting, and both he and Edwards had completed their doubles by half time to make it 47-7.

The game plan in the second half was to get the ball to Compton to go round his winger, and it worked perfectly as he got the next two tries to take his total to four.

Burton added the conversions and then got the final score of the day, with the last move of the match, to complete Cambridge’s 64-7 win.

Olly Elmsley and Nick Budenberg touched down to help give Shelford colts a 14-0 win over Southwold in the Eastern Counties Cup.

It was hardly ideal conditions for the fixture, with snow falling and settling on the all-weather pitch at the Davey Field, and a freezing temperature.

Keeping possession was proving difficult for both sides, with plenty of knock-ons leading to the question of whether the teams were trying to play too much.

Shelford started to adapt though, with good use of the boot pushing the ball into the corners and putting pressure on Southwold.

From a 5m scrum to Shelford, Southwold’s back row were penalised for breaking early and a quick tap penalty led to Elmsley touching down, with James Gould converting for a 7-0 lead at half time.

Shelford took their better game management into the second half, keeping Southwold pinned inside their own 22.

Southwold did well to keep out wave after wave of Shelford attacks, who seemed to be keeping hold of the ball better than their opponents.

Budenburg and Toby Carmichael both looked like they would score, only for Southwold to just manage to hold them up.

Budenberg finally got the try that he and Shelford deserved, and Gould landed the conversion to complete a 14-0 win for the hosts.

Cambridge under-13 girls had a record of played three, won three at the Eastern Counties tournament in Diss.

Among the try scorers were Chloe Abrams, Ellie Newlands, Sheetal Chopra and Abi Markillie as individual running, team play and support play with good communication reaped their rewards.

There were also some crunching tackles on a bitterly cold, snowy day which made for difficult conditions.

And there were two wins out of two for Cambridge under-15s in Diss.

Their first match was against Crusaders, who could not live with the pace and power of Cambridge. With blistering attacks from all over the pitch, Cambridge scored at will against a side who were playing their second game.

Cambridge then faced a crunch game against Diss, who also won their opening match.

Diss had beaten Cambridge at the previous festival, and Cambridge wanted revenge, which they got by two tries to one, with the front five putting in a big shift in difficult conditions.