Bury welcomed a strong Cambridge team to the Haberden for the first time in recent years and were instantly forced onto the back foot. Strong running and smooth handling from Cambridge resulted in their scoring two early tries and finding themselves 12-0 up before ten minutes were on the clock. Just as it looked like the home side were in for a long afternoon some determined driving from Thomas Treneman forced a penalty near the Cambridge line. Todd Hutchinson was alert to the opportunity and drove over to score after a quick tap and go.

From the restart Cambridge came pouring forwards again, scoring another try in the corner and re-establishing their twelve-point lead. Determined to close the gap before half-time Bury drove forwards, Sam Green, Will Hudson-White and Nico Marchini making some excellent yards and Kai Tan putting in an excellent shift at number eight. From a breakdown near the halfway line, Bury rucked over well and Angus Hudson saw the chance to pick up and charge straight through as Cambridge looked to cover across the field. He sprinted away to score a great try under the posts which Todd Hutchinson converted. This left the half-time score at 12-17 and Bury were somehow within touching distance despite Cambridge dominating much of the first period.

The second half started with Bury flying out of the blocks, Henry Hitt playing very well at scrum-half and Nico Marchini slaloming through to score an excellent try. George Howard converted to put the home side ahead for the first time in the match. As the game opened up Cambridge came back hard, setting up camp in the Bury 22 with only strong tackling and disciplined defence keeping them at bay. Eventually the pressure told, and Cambridge scored in the corner again to lead 22-19 with only ten minutes remaining.

Henry Hitt and George Howard were doing their utmost to get Bury back into the right areas of the pitch, and Ralph Cooper and Kai Tan were chasing everything and not giving Cambridge time to think. However, with time ticking down it looked as though the Cambridge defence was going to hold out. With only seconds left George Howard kicked long downfield and Nico Marchini and Finn O’Donnell chased down well, putting pressure onto the Cambridge defence and helping to force a penalty for offside. Angus Hudson was on hand to double his tally and drive over to score, sparking celebrations amongst his team mates. George Howard added the conversion to leave the final score at 26-22.

Overall this was an incredibly tense game, and one that Bury can be very proud of having won. They were on the ropes in the first half in particular but stuck at it and did not let their heads drop when conceding the three early tries. With two away matches as the last two fixtures of 2019 the lads can be very proud of going the entire calendar year unbeaten on their own turf. Tough tests await at Wymondham and Ipswich in the next fortnight, but if the performance in this match is anything to go by, they won’t want for effort, spirit and camaraderie.

Man of the Match (Forwards): Kai Tan
Man of the Match (Backs): Henry Hitt
Most improved (Forwards): Angus Hudson
Most improved (Backs): Ralph Cooper