Forwards' power play helps Cambridge earn draw with Blackheath

Mike Ayrton strikes late for the hosts

Perseverance and patience were the overriding characteristics exhibited by Cambridge as they grabbed a 23-23 draw with Blackheath in National League One.

It is something of a strange league this year with at one end a team – Hartpury College – romping their way to promotion, and at the other the number of relegation spots cut from three to two.

So quite honestly, a large swathe of teams are meandering their way through the course of the second half of the season with little to play for except pride and to be as high up the table as possible.

Cambridge will probably always have one eye over their shoulder, especially given the recent renaissance of Blaydon and the game in hand held by Hull Ionians.

But Saturday’s opponents Blackheath are perhaps treading water in fifth spot, waiting for the arrival of James Shanahan as head coach.

That though will no doubt cause players to raise their game with the aim of securing a new contract when the new man takes charge.

What played out between the two sides at Volac Park was probably a microcosm of the two scenarios, and it led to an entertaining, if not technically brilliant, game.

And Cambridge will probably go away the happier of the two teams, if you take into consideration the league positions.

With a team as experienced and adept in National League One as Blackheath, you may have expected them to have a little more nous than the hosts, and that was certainly true in the early stages.

They cannily managed to get themselves on the better side of referee Thomas Davies, adhering to his instructions better to get the penalty count rising in their favour and against Cambridge.

But one of the biggest traits about the hosts this season has been their ability to learn, and they managed to turn the situation around to at least gain parity and not fall foul of the official too often.

The thing that stood out most though was the display of the forwards. They were tireless in their work, something that has been stand-out factor for much of the campaign.

As a pack, they perhaps tend to get overlooked by supporters because they do not have the ‘beasts’ that so many other sides contain.

Yet, you only have to look at the performances of Alex Moon as an example as to how much work they get through.

Bar a few big runs from the 20-year-old lock, you hardly saw the Northampton Saints loanee but that was just the way it should be for a second row as he was constantly buried at the bottom of a ruck having got to the break down first in an attempt to either protect possession or win it back.

Prop Ricky Reeves adds a real steel to the fight possessed by Cambridge, and is by and large a very clean operator, rarely conceding penalties with any of his work in the tight.

While willowy Louis Rawlings is a scavenger, his strength and tenacity probably belying his frame.

So if it was a game of top trumps you would definitely want to be looking at the numerical data before you decided which value to compare.

And it really was the Cambridge forwards that earned the draw against Blackheath, who have often prided themselves on their pack.

Thanks to two penalties from Jack Green and a converted try from Rawlings, and a try from Mike Perks and 11 points from Leo Fielding, the score stood at 16-13 to Blackheath after 70 minutes.

But when the visitors were awarded a penalty try two minutes later, converted by Fielding, the 23-13 margin seemed a little too big for Cambridge to make up.

Their reply was instant as George Furbank’s chip through was fumbled and the Cambridge full-bank collected the ball to put in Mike Ayrton to score in the corner.

And from the restart and a kick to touch after a penalty, Cambridge enjoyed a sustained eight-minute spell in the Blackheath 22.

After Petts had been sin-binned and more composure from the hosts’ forwards, play was eventually moved wide to Ayrton, who darted in to the corner to level the match at 23-23, a score line that ended up being fair for both sides.

Cambridge: Furbank; Petrides, Hema, J Ayrton, Portsmouth; Green, Trotter; Reeves, Ruddock, Seal, Moon, Baxter, Rawlings, Laxton, Nutley.

Replacements: Read (Nutley, 48), Langley (Seal, 53), Griffiths (Ruddock, 53), Liebenberg (Trotter, 59), M Ayrton (Petrides, 61), Nutley (Rawlings, 76).

Blackheath: Griffiths; Fielding, Burcham, Cooke, Lloyd; Whatling, Bedding; Croall, Perks, Scutt, Gillanders, Montgomery, Owen, Walker, Baldwin.

Replacements: Baker, Stradwick, Davies (Griffiths, 29), Chapman (Bedding, 40), Stradwick (Montgomery, 45), Read (Scutt, 65), Baker (Lloyd, 80+4).

Sin bin: Blackheath – Perks (technical offence, 80+2).

Referee: Thomas Davis.

Scorers: 6min Fielding pen (0-3), 13 Perks try (0-8), 21 Rawlings try – Green con (7-8), 40+2 Green pen (10-8), 47 Fielding pen (10-11), 55 Fielding try (10-16), 64 Green pen (13-16), 72 penalty try – Fielding con (13-23), 74 M Ayrton try (18-23), 80+7 M Ayrton try (23-23).