Cambridge entertained Bury St Edmunds and on a rain soaked pitch that induced a higher than expected error count, came out second by 2 unconverted tries.

Playing away from the clubhouse in the first half, Cambridge found themselves pinned to their own half by the sizeable Bury eight. On 2 occasions Harry Mills made try saving interventions on the goal line. The forwards worked hard to contain their larger opponents – Tom Bailey, welcomed back at hooker, brought some solidity to the scrummage, along with the second row power house of Elliot Fraser and James O’Sullivan.

Jack Wade, Harvey Roberts and scrum half Sam Miller kicked well out of defence, keeping their forwards moving into their opponents half at every opportunity.

Eventually however, sheer force of numbers took it’s toll as Bury finally broke through from a short penalty 10m out – crashing over despite the close attention of the Cambridge pack.

Bury continued to press for the remainder of the half and were kept out by aggressive tackling from George Howarth, George Grimmet and Marco Young.

During the break the supporting 1st XV players Andy Phillips and Ben Patston gave useful advice and encouragement so that Cambridge turned round with even greater commitment.

Straight from the restart Cambridge pressurised the Bury line – great runs from back row forwards Harry Mills, Anthony Rubenstein-Baylis and Luthais Morrison gave the side new impetus. But alas, often such charges left the player isolated and resulted in turnover ball allowing Bury to clear their lines.

The loss of hooker Tom Bailey to a knee injury did not help the cause as the rearranged front row came under greater pressure.

But Cambridge did not let up – Sam Miller and Jack Wade both kicked cleverly into space, keeping their forwards moving up field.

And then with 12 minutes to go, the real turning point – 10m short of the line and with a penalty in their favour, Cambridge succumbed to  a moment of indiscipline. The resulting yellow card and reversed penalty allowed Bury to clear upfield and turn the tables of pressure. Bury again crashed over from close range, using their size to good effect.

Even with a reduced compliment Cambridge rallied to the cause showing some aggressive running and tackling and continuing to pressurise the visitors line.

Overall a good close contest from which Cambridge will have learned not to leave the ball carrier isolated.