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Under 13s - Sunday 13th of April 2003
Wisbech 27
Cambridge 29
With the cricket pitches already marked out, this fixture had something of an end of season feeling about it as the cup-winning Wisbech side lost an enthralling match in the dying seconds at Harecroft Road on Sunday.
The home side started with six first-team regulars missing, this meant that the side had an unfamiliar look to it. Wisbech had been well beaten by Cambridge earlier in the season and this game started as if history were about to repeat itself. Cambridge kicked into a wide-open space on the Wisbech left, and the visitors' winger picked up cleanly and ran through to score. The conversion failed, and after the restart Wisbech hit back. After a back-row break from a lineout the ball was recycled for Daniel Lamb to score on the right of the posts. A stiff breeze was making it a difficult day for the kickers and the score remained at 5-5.
The Wisbech forwards now began to assert some authority in the loose, and after a penalty near the posts scrum-half Darryl Veenendaal slipped the ball to Josh Seale who touched down on the right. Veenendaal then scored a typical opportunist try after good forward pressure. The conversion again went wide to bring the score to 15-5 to the home side.
After a Wisbech penalty in the middle of the pitch the ball was fed to Michael Gillick who completely outpaced the Cambridge defence to score between the posts. This time there was no mistake with the conversion and Wisbech were ahead by 22-5. This margin looked comfortable, but Cambridge came straight back with a try after exposing some frail defensive work by the Wisbech players. Half time came with the score at 22-10 to Wisbech.
With many players in unfamiliar positions the twelve point lead looked vulnerable, and so it proved, as more sloppy tackling let Cambridge through again to bring the score to 22-15. After stealing a lineout, Wisbech scored with a break by replacement number eight Ollie Mackett, which increased the lead to 27-15.
The next fifteen minutes were agony for the Wisbech supporters as Cambridge relentlessly whittled away at the lead. Finding form with the boot just when it mattered Cambridge converted another try to bring the score to 27-22. There followed a period of intense Cambridge pressure with Wisbech eventually cracking to let the visitors through for a final try. With the last kick of the game the ball crept over the bar, the whistle went, and down went Wisbech heads with the match ending 27-29.
Several players including Gillick, Cuss, Prestidge and Veenendaal had fine games, but there were just two many holes in a makeshift Wisbech defence to keep out the strong Cambridge runners.
The scorers for Wisbech:
Tries: Lamb, Seale, Veenendaal, Gillick & Mackett
Cons: Veenendaal 1
Report by David Prestidge
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Wisbech skipper and scrumhalf Darryl Veenendaal breaking blind side
All photos courtesy of David Prestidge.
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Flanker Solomon Prestidge out jumping the Cambridge lineout to steel a Cambridge lineout.
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