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Cantabs 2s entertained Mildenhall and Red Lodge looking to bounce back from a narrow defeat at Renegades last time out. Skipper Laurence Jones returned to the side in the unfamiliar Hooker role and Alex Neasham started at inside centre. On the bench Gideon was set to make his Cantabs debut.
Mildenhall Kicked off short and were able to regather the ball. Keen to make amends, the Cantabs defence pressed up to quickly and Mildenhall were awarded a penalty, 30m out and the visiting kicker made no mistake. One minute down and Cantabs were down 3-0.
Cantabs returned and pressurised the kick off and were able to contain Mildenhall with disciplined tackling and the returned ball allowed Cantabs a chance to run with the ball in hand with Alex, Xav and Jamie all making incisive runs before Denman crashed over to score. Lovett added the extras and Cantabs took the lead. Another untidy kick was gathered slightly better by Cantabs and the Blue and Whites running game was able to spring into action, Rich Ford was being a menace showing a mixture of skills across the pitch and Lovett and Will were working well to get the ball to the wide channels.
Steve was doing a good job of hassling the Mildenhall lineout and made a couple of excellent steals, allowing the chance for counter attacking and scores from Alex, Rick and Xav meant the bonus point was secure before half time.
Cantabs were creating opportunities across the park and Rick was unlucky to knock on with the line at his mercy whilst Charlie almost made the line from a quick tap and go before being held up.
The scrum was becoming a decent competition, despite a few aerial issues for Laurence and Cantabs did well to steal the ball against the head. At half time Cantabs had a comfortable lead 38-3.
At the change of end Cantabs were erged to stick to their structure despite the fractured nature of the game. Gideon took to the field for Josh.
Further tries followed with Rich and Tozer getting their names on the score sheet and Alex and Will adding to their totals.
A nasty collision in the air at the lineout saw Steve land badly and he was taken off as a precaution, with Josh returning to the wing and Xav having a go at back row for the final 20 minutes.
As Cantabs looked to press home the advantage some wayward handling from Lovett, destined for Jamie was picked out by the Mildenhall fullback who had the pace to outstrip the cover defence and make the corner, the kick was just off but Mildenhall had a reward for their hard work.
The final minutes saw Mildenhall drop to 13 players but they continued to play a good abrasive game right up to the final whistle. A strong bonus point win for Cantabs and plenty to build on for the next few days, thanks to the boys who stepped up to play in unfamiliar positions.
Man of the Match saw a few nominations, Will was excellent, snipping and distributing and grabbing a hatrick, but shot off early so the award went to Rich Ford for a great display of all round skill.
Dick of the Day was awarded to Jamie for forming one part of the move that let Mildenhall in for the try in an otherwise strong performance.
Next week the 2s travel to Ely in need of another win to move us up the table.
Cantabs 2 (38) 64
Tries (10): McFadyan x3, Ford, Neasham x 2, Peters, Tozer, Denman, Toushek,
Conversions: Lovett (7)
Mildenhall & Red Lodge (3) 8
Tries (1), Penalties (1)