Cambridge Rugby Club head to Bedford Blues in RFU Championship after picking up try bonus point last time out against Hartpury University

Rugby is a results business and last Saturday’s home clash with Hartpury University will ultimately go down as another RFU Championship defeat for Cambridge.

After going down 40-22 at Ellgia Fields, Richie Williams’ charges have now lost their opening four matches as a second tier outfit, with only London Scottish keeping them off the basement.

But the surface only needs to be scratched ever so slightly to locate some optimism. Yes, Cambridge were given another lesson on the brutal nature of the Championship against an opposition side that punished even the smallest of errors.

However, having been limited to just three tries across their previous two outings, Cambridge ran in four of their own and with better decision making or that extra little bit of quality, they could have dotted down a couple more.

Director of rugby and head coach Williams said: “Parts of the game were positive. We’ve scored four tries to get the bonus point and that’s a big improvement from the last couple of games.

“The message we gave the players at the end was that we’ve got to make it harder for our opponents. A lot of those 40 points Hartpury scored, they didn’t have to work that hard.

“Some of our ill discipline allowed them to get into the 22 and they’ve scored a little bit too easily at times.

“That’s the key message from today but I’m also pleased we’ve had an impact at the other end.

“We’re under a lot more pressure this season. We gave away penalties in the middle third of the pitch which allowed them to get into our 22.

“What we’ve found very quickly this season, when the other team has got the ball inside the 22, it’s very hard to contain them.

“The bonus point was our minimum requirement today. We want to make sure we get something from each of our next three games. The level of disappointment from the players shows what they’re about as a group.

“We’ll focus on some of the positives and build on them going forward.”

Williams was particularly impressed with the performance of summer addition Elias Caven, who scored a brace of tries alongside one each for Morgan Veness and Jake Ellwood.

It is now four tries this term for the winger, leaving him joint second in the division’s charts.

“He’s been fantastic. He knows how to score tries and he’s shown that by scoring four in a side that hasn’t been firing attacking wise,” added Williams.

“The nice thing about Eli is that he’s starting to grow into a leadership role. He spoke really candidly at the end about we need to improve as a group and what we need to do.

“He’s brought into what we want to do as a group and he’s raising the standard around our back play and how we’re approaching games.”

Attention now switches to this weekend’s derby at Bedford Blues on Saturday (November 25).

It will be the first competitive fixture between the two sides since 1979 and speaking after last weekend’s loss to Hartpury, Williams is expecting another stern test at Goldington Road.

He said: “Bedford are notoriously a fast-paced team. They keep the ball on the pitch and play with a lot of tempo and energy.

“If we’re saying today we had to be better defensively, next week will provide a real good example of if we’ve learned any lessons.

“It will be tough, especially away from home in front of a decent crowd, but we’ll look to ask them some questions and hopefully cause a few problems.”

Meanwhile, speaking on Bedford’s social media channels, centre Sean French added: “We’re all really happy to see them come up. It’s two more local derbies in the season and it’s really exciting for them too.

“They’ll probably see themselves as underdogs, but it’s always a dangerous one going into this type of game as an underdog.

“It’s our job to step up to the plate and show what we can do at home. They’re a team that don’t go away, which is always dangerous. We know they have threats but it will be very much focus on our own game.”