CURUFC 24 - 21 Crawshay’s

A dramatic last-gasp try from Matt Steele ended a thrilling encounter where the Blues ran out victors by the narrowest of margins. They triumphed over a Crawshay’s invitational side consisting of full-time professionals.

Coming out from half time four points in arrears, Cambridge were continually frustrated in a second half that yielded no score for either side until replacement full-back Chris Blucke, picking up from under his own posts, broke the line of defence to charge into the opposition half. He set the stage for Steele to force his way over from the base of the ruck after Abraham had broken through in the second phase.

The game had begun with the Welsh outfit displaying excellent handling skills and blistering pace in the backs, testing the full extent of the defensive capabilities of the Blues backs. The first score, however, came from a sustained period of attack from the forwards, culminating in tighthead prop Rob O’Donnell barging his way over. Parity was briefly restored as Sam Bellamy (displaying lightening-fast hands), combined with Stephen, who put Andy Murdoch through on the right to score. Diminutive Crawshay’s winger Nallany exploited a two-man overlap in the Blues 22, bringing the score to 14-7. Not to be deterred, Tullie capitalised on ill-discipline from the tee, reducing the deficit to 4 points before inside centre Dugal Bain muscled his way through 3 tackles to give the Blues the lead for the first time in the game.

As half time approached, Crawshay’s set up camp on the Blues’ five metre line. A series of driving malls were rebutted by excellent defensive play, until scrum-half Ali Price eventually found a way through; the match in the balance at 21-17.

In contrast with the first half, the majority of the second period was scoreless, the Blues defending stoutly before a series of opportunities went begging. First, Will Smith collected Steele’s pass and charged for the line, but was penalised for holding on with Bain free on the outside; Seb Tullie then broke the line with a delightful show-and-go but was thwarted by the Crashway’s defence as he seeked to offload; and Wolfe was denied a try after his fly-hack through hit the goal post as he looked set to score. As the Welsh lay siege to the Blues try line in the dying moments, it appeared that the opportunity had gone, until Blucke’s late intervention.

The win will give great confidence to the Blues, who go into a two-week break having won three games in succession. With the constant attacking threat of the back line, paired with the huge force of the driving mauls, the character shown in Wednesday's victory is exactly the spirit Cambridge will seek to emulate when they take to the field at Twickenham.

Tries: Andy Murdoch, Dugal Bain, Matthew Steele

Conversions: Seb Tullie(3)

Penalties: Seb Tullie (1)