Ely 46 Vs Harwich 16

More committed in the tackle and loose play Ely racked up an embarrassing score line by the end of play. Harwich defence has been up till now the outstanding aspect of their game keeping sides out with good first up tackling and great and committed cover defence, somehow this deserted them at Ely whose strong running backs created havoc among Harwich defenders.

From the kick off Harwich made a confident start nearly scoring form kick off when S Palmer caught a perfectly placed drop out to charge almost to the Ely line, the ball was recycled 4 or 5 times before the move ended in a Harwich knock on just inches from the Ely line. Harwich were dominating until under pressure at the scrum Harwich half backs were unable to get clean ball and the sharp Ely flankers took the advantage, picked up the spilled ball and launched an attack scoring in the corner.

Undeterred the Harwich restart was this time fielded by Jay Hatcher who drove up field deep into Ely territory where Harwich camped for the next 10 minute, eventually making the pressure tell with a score from Hutchins . 10 minutes gone and one try a piece all was set for a great display of attacking rugby from both sides.

The next score came when Ely charged offside before the ball was out of the scrum in a clear attempt to intimidate debutante scrum half Lloyd Macphee. Male slotted the resulting penalty to put Harwich ahead. A series of penalties conceded by the home side gave Harwich a chance to further widen the score with Male converting from around 40 meters. At 25 minutes the score was 11. 5 to the visitors and everything under control.

Ely had other ideas they pressed hard into Harwich territory and were close to scoring with a forward drive defended well by the Harwich pack resulting in Ely conceding another penalty while trying to ground the ball. Towards the end of the half Ely had their first break when a clearance kick didn’t make touch but bounced away from the defenders straight to the Ely winger who collected and cantered in under the posts. Harwich seemed unable to believe they were now behind.

Almost straight from the restart Ely surged through the attempted tackles to score again , now full of confidence they ran hard at the Harwich midfield who seemed incapable of making the tackles that have been their trademark all season. Harwich conceded a penalty 30 metres out, the Ely kicker hit the post to the amazement of the defending players who were slow to react when again quick work from Ely flankers picked up the ball and ran it in for an easy score.

Things were going from bad to worse, quick passing and good footwork allowed the Ely backs to get an overlap which converted into yet another try in the corner

Half time and Harwich reshuffled the pack in an attempt regain control of the game Determined running in the centre from Jay Hatcher started to cause some problems for Ely and his efforts were rewarded with a try to bring Harwich back into contention but defensive errors and poor tackling allowed Ely to dominate the rest of the match. Scoring 3 times more, the high light of which was when Ely’s full back caught the clearance kick and charged 40 yards to score leaving a trail of missed tackles in his wake.

Harwich will have to look hard at this performance during the week and work out how one the best defences in the league was so easily undone by a side that on paper were no better than the Harwich set up. Letting a good start slip into a poor defeat is unlike Harwich and they will be determined not to repeat the performance when they meet there close rivals in December