The picture shows the U9 B squad.

The U10s,U9s and U7s each won the Bowl in their age groups while the U11′s retained the Plate and the U8s won the plate in their groups.

The picture shows the successful U11 squad in action.

The U9′s –  winners of the Bowl at the Surrey A  tournament at Dorking

This is a really great result and sees us about halfway towards purchasing a set of floodlights which we so desperately need – and we can achieve our goal if we manage to win the £5000 on offer from the Main Square competition – so please remember – every time you spend £20 or more in the Main Square take your receipts to the information desk close to the Army & Navy and put your ball(s) into our container. Currently we seem to be doing quite well BUT we must all keep up the pressure until the competition finishes in September.

Finally  many thanks to Nevil for running the RFU draw this time as it was largely down to his organisation and persistence that we did so well and please look out for it next season as it is proving to be a very good way to generate much needed funds for our club.

The opening 5 mins saw Cornish on the offensive but a missed penalty allowed Cam some possession and they almost scored when, following a break by JJ, the final pass was adjudged forward. From a scrum deep in their 22 Cornish broke clear and when the Cam defence was penalised, they took play up to within 10m of the visitors line and from the resulting scrum forced their way over for a converted try after 15 mins.

Cam replied straight from the restart when Jayde kicked a penalty making the score 7-3. The game then became very scrappy and although Cam were awarded a string of penalties they were unable to add to their score before half time which actually occured more than 50mins after ko in a game with few injuries and stoppages of significance.

Cam started the second half with much more intent against a tiring Cornish side and after 48 minutes a series of attacks saw winger Dan Lewis cross in the corner to move the black and ambers into the lead. At this stage it was all Cam but the faithful ‘Boys in Pink’ were temporarily silenced when, completely against the run of play, their English and Commonwealth Power lifting Champion prop was stripped of the ball by one of the more diminuitive  Cornish threequarters who scampered away to make the score 8-12. after 54 mins.

Cam came back straight from the restart and were unlucky not to have been awarded a try when Jayde was driven over the try line following some excellent running in the backs, and from the resulting 5m scrum #8 Hoff was bundled into touch.

Again, against the run of play, Cornish extended their lead with a well struck penalty from halfway to make the score  8-15 after 70 mins however Cam were not giving in easily and again more pressure saw Tom Keith drive over for a try close to the corner flag but with Jaydes difficult conversion falling just short it meant that with just a few minutes left Cornish were still in the lead. However we were all about to be treated to some Lewis magic when Dan collected the restart in his own 22 and stepped and burned his way through at least half of the opposition to score one of the tries of the season – and impressively he had more of his own side than opposition around him when he touched down.

With the conversion successful making the score 20-15 this was almost the last action of the game and the season giving the black and ambers a well deserved win against a durable but ordinary Cornish side who clearly ran out of steam and had little to offer in the second period.

A great result for Cam who despite their wobble in the period up to Xmas have managed to get things together for a series of good performances in the New Year.

This was a great team performance with Andy Wreakes having a fine game at scrum half , young Andy G giving a master class in tackling and support play at 7, good offence and defence across the threequarters and, particularly in the second period, the increasing dominance of the front five  but the man of the match and also voted Player of the Season at the players dinner later that evening, was once again ‘The Hoff’ who is clearly growing into his new role at 8 and made many punishing runs into the heart of the Cornish defence which eventually buckled under the pressure this created.

Overall a very satisfactory season in this new League with a mid table finish despite the horrendous injury problems suffered in Nov and December and with much learned by the coaches to enable them to prepare for next season.

After their dreadful start last week, Cam got off to the dream start against already relegated Bognor when Dan Lewis retrieved the visitors defensive kick from the kick off and made 30m - from the ruck the black and ambers spun the ball wide for Alex O’Meara to cross for the opening score within a minute of the start. The try was converted by Ed Smith and  the home team were up and flying – at least thats what the home supporters felt.

In fact the next 20 mins was very scrappy with lots of whistle blowing which seemed to upset any flow that might have been there. Bognor were clearly here to try to win in style and so opted to kick for touch rather than for goal on several occasions probably because their pack seemed to have the nudge on the black and ambers.

However when Cam won their lineout in the visitors 22 they drove towards the try line and when the ruck was formed quick ball saw Dan Lewis come in off his wing to touch down under the posts and with Ed Smith converting the score moved on to 14-0 after 25 mins. This scoreline didn’t really do justice to the Bognor pack who were certainly causing the Cam 8 a number of problems but on 35 mins a driving maul from the lineout saw skipper Hill cross for Cams third try making the score 19-0. However just before half time Cam were reduced to 14 when one of their locks was red carded – the view from the touchline was that the player should have taken the pre match advice and dyed his bright pink boots black!!!. So with the pack already up against it this was a huge blow to the home side who had just over 40 mins left with 14 men.

The second half started very scrappily again with the regular interruption of the official but the Cam 14 stuck to their task and after almost 60mins were awarded a penalty which was converted by Ed Smith making the score 22-0. The final 20 mins saw the official making even more use of his whistle, mostly at the expense of the home side, and this finally brought a score for the visitors when they were awarded yet another penalty close to the Cam line and this time they crossed for a converted try in the 48th minute of the second half, a half in which there had not been any apparent serious stoppages.

Overall  this was a very scrappy match, which was never allowed to flow, with the visitors making a real fight of things up front although when the ball reached the Cam backs  their defence seemed to be somewhat lacking. With the other results and the sudden points deduction for Twickenham Cam now appear to have moved clear of any thoughts of relegation but will need to tighten things up before their visit to London Cornish  on the 14th.

The pack, reduced to 7 for more than half of the game, worked very hard with The Hoff and Andy tackling their hearts out and the backs looked very dangerous with ball in hand. Special mention to scrum half TT who was playing his last game for Cam before his move to Essex in the summer.

At this stage the black and ambers began to stir and almost replied when Phil Andrews followed up a great break with a chip over the line which was gathered by the fullback. However the casual play continued when, following a charged down kick, poor tackling saw the hosts cross for a third try with a simple blindside move from a 5m scrum. So after 25 mins Cam were looking at a 17-0 scoreline and the supporters were looking for signs of life in their team. This, thankfully, came straight from the restart when Cam won the ball and the backs showed their ability when with good hands and running lines they sliced through the Guildford defence for Pat Gillham to touch down after 29 mins.

This improvement continued when, from the restart, Phil Andrews made another break but the final try scoring pass went astray. The remainder of the half was pretty well matched and so the sides reached halftime and a well earned water break with the score 17-5.

The second half got under way with the black and ambers still on the wrong side of the penalty count and within 5 mins they went further behind when Guildford kicked a simple penalty. Cam came back straight from the restart which was fumbled by the hosts and when they were awarded a penalty on 5m skipper Hilly opted for the scrum which was cleverly wheeled to allow ‘The Doc’ to force his way over for a well worked try.

Cam were again on the attack straight from the restart and were very unlucky to have a what appeared to be a good scoring pass adjudged forward by the ref who was somewhat off the pace of Alex O’Meara as he scorched to the line. This was a blow to Cam as a score at that time would have brought the game to within 3 points however Cam continued to look for the next score and played some good open rugby but were thwarted by solid Guildford defence and in one such attack the hosts turned the ball over and raced away to score a killer try making the score 27-10.

Despite the June like conditions Cam kept pressing and with the introduction of Dan Lewis and Tom Keith they added more pace to their game and continued to look for the next score which came 30mins into the half when following a great lineout drive by Cam a ruck was formed on the hosts 22. Scrum half TT spotted a gap and his delicate chip ahead was  fumbled by the Guildford 15 allowing TT to regather and ‘sprint over’ to score. Ed Smith converted to make the score 27-17 and this was how the game ended.

The result was a disappointment as, not for the first time this season, this was a game that if we had played for the full 80 at the normal level of intensity could have been won – giving your opponent a soft 12 point start is never a good game plan.

However once Cam had decided to play it was a good performance against tough opponents who had plenty of pace and were very good defensively. The Cam forwards dominated the lineouts both their  own and Guildfords and the scrum was solid. The Hoff’s tackle count was, as usual, immense and Kim and The Doc both carried well when given the opportunity. In the backs Phil and Pat were outstanding in both attack and defence and Alex was unlucky on several occasions when his pace exposed the opposition.

With the other results and upcoming fixtures of those clubs below us in the League the stage is now set for next weeks fixture at Watchetts when we entertain bottom club Bognor (who beat us when we visited them in December).

Action

Camberley rugby U11s pulled off a fantastic one-two on Sunday when their A and B teams won their respective pools in the mini rugby festival held at Camberley on Sunday at Watchetts Recreation ground. Over 1100 players participated in the festival, which featured boys and girls from across 6 age groups – from ages 6 to 13 – and involved clubs across Surrey. The sunny weather encouraged all the teams to play entertaining, fast, running rugby with the ball being passed out quickly to the wings, the ice cream vans and cafeteria did a roaring trade, and all the parents wished they had put on more sun cream.

In some tough games against local rivals such as Chobham, Guildford and Farnham, the Camberley U11 teams tackled their hearts out and scored some fantastic tries – one move in particular against the Guildford A team saw the ball passed through eight seperate pairs of hands before a try was scored in the corner. What was particularly impressive was the Black and Golds of Camberley also successfully defended their try line – with the result that at the end of the day each team had played 5, won 5, total tries scored 21, total tries conceded 0. According to former Camberley Club President Roger Chamberlain this is the first time that a minis team have not allowed any team to score against them at a festival since 1978, and equals the achievement of the U12s in what was the Surrey Centenary Competition of that year. For two teams from the same age group to achieve it is thus remarkable and makes Camberley history.

pic shows action from the U11 B squad

It was with much pride – and not a little emotion from their cheering parents – that two teams of very happy but exhausted players collected their trophy from the Mayor of Surrey Heath.

For all of the results click here

As many of you know the club is in desperate need of some portable floodlights to accomodate the ever growing mini and youth sections who want to train during the week. These floodlights cost £8K+ and we have made a great start with the RFU Draw income but this £5000 would help us complete the purchase and also help us to install secure storage.

So please tell all of your family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours – all they need to do when they spend £20 in the Mall is to take the receipt to the information desk outside Army and Navy and collect their token – not very difficult and if we win it will make so much difference to so many mini and youth members of the club during those dark winter evenings.

BUT INCREASING FORWARD PRESSURE PAID DIVIDENDS FOR CAMBERLEY AS A BRACE OF TRIES WERE SCORED IN THE SPACE OF TWO MINUTES ON THE STROKE OF HALF TIME. FIRSTLY WINGER JAYDE CRUICKSHANK WENT OVER FOLLOWED BY
LOCK KIM PLANT BUT WITH NEITHER CONVERTED IT WAS 16 – 17 AT HALF TIME.

THE IMPETUS SHOWN AS THE FIRST HALF CONCLUDED CONTINUED AFTER THE BREAK AND WITH 8 MINUTES GONE FULL BACK PAT GILHAM WAS OVER WITH JAYDE CRUIKSHANK CONVERTING TO GIVE A 23 – 17 LEAD. BUT BY 15  MINUTES GONE A PENALTY AND THEN A WELL CONVERTED TRY AFTER ANOTHER CHIP AHEAD FOR REIGATIONS SAW TEN POINTS AND THE LEAD AT 27 – 23 AGAIN GAINED.

THE FINAL QUARTER SAW THE CAMBERLEY FORWARDS GAIN SUFFICIENT CONTROL TO ENSURE THE RESULT SO NEEDED COULD BE ACHIEVED. AT 28 MINUTES JAYDE CRUICKSHANK WAS OVER FOR HIS SECOND TRY WHICH HE DULY CONVERTED. WITH THE FORWARDS CONTROLLING THE TERRITORY WITH 5 MINUTES REMAINING A PENALTY AWARDED WAS SCORED BY CRUICKSHANK AND JUST BEFORE THE CLOSE FLY HALF JAMES JUSTICE SCORED A WELL SET UP TRY.

SO A WIN AT 38 – 27 AND THE FIVE TRIES GIVING A BONUS POINT AND A RISE UP THE TABLE. A HEARTENING SUCCESS FOR CAMBERLEY WITH JUST THREE MATCHES REMAINING.

Report by Neil Doody