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Patience to be crucial for Cambridge Rugby Club




Cambridge director of rugby Ross Stewart (left) and coach Dan Seal. Picture: Keith Heppell
Cambridge director of rugby Ross Stewart (left) and coach Dan Seal. Picture: Keith Heppell

Stewart tells Cambridge to bide time

Patience could be one of the key virtues that Cambridge Rugby Club will need to learn this season, according to director of rugby Ross Stewart.

Cambridge were beaten 37-12 at Darlington Mowden Park last Saturday in National League One, in a match where Stewart felt the hosts were just a cut above.

But it taught Cambridge a valuable lesson as they adjust to life in the higher division.

“I think, ultimately, they were just better than us,” said Stewart. “Our defence was much better but coming up against a tougher defence we struggled to break them down in attack.

“They were well organised, well structured in defence and they took their chances and were clinical. They didn’t give us a lot, they were that tight in defence.

“When we did have the ball, they slowed us down at the breakdown and got back in defence. We would have liked to have picked something up from the game but it was just one of those games.

“It was that difference from National Two to National One and that was the frustration.”

They will stick to their guns in the way they play the game though, but Stewart believes they will have to bide their times in matches.

And they are likely to face a team playing a similar style when Loughborough Students visit Volac Park tomorrow.

“Nothing will really change in what we’re trying to achieve and the way we want to play,” he said. “We sometimes have to be a bit more patient in attack to break teams down.

“We will still play with a decent tempo in attack and they will be well conditioned and play for 80 minutes. We will be a bit more pragmatic and make sure that when we do go, we go at the right time.

“It’s a young team that will want to play rugby and move the ball and test each other.

“The boys are frustrated they haven’t put in a performance yet but it doesn’t just happen. We have to be patient and go with it.

“It’s the same with defence as well.”

He added: “It also needs patience in attack and defence as the boys are perhaps used to cutting teams apart quite early, while defences are better [in this league].”



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