Ives 2nds were involved in an entertaining match in very heavy underfoot conditions, coming out on top in the last moments.

The hosts began well defensively as Bury pressed hard in the opening 10 minutes. Determined running by Ives pack saw them gain ground and camp in the Bury 22.

Aggressive running saw the Bulls batter the Bury line, but rugged defence kept them out. Finally, as the first quarter elapsed, Adam Scott darted through a gap to score. Joe Cox added the extras.

Ives attacked again from the restart with good runs across the park, notably from back rowers Jack Hickman, Sam Vivers and Craig Taylor and second rows Tom Graves and Shaun Mundy.

Once more they were to be frustrated as the final pass to space eluded them in the tricky conditions. Also credit to the visiting full back who felled Matt Millar into touch inches from the line.

As is often the case in rugby, Bury took heart from their defensive effort. As the half was closing, a superb break from their own 22 saw them all the way to Ives try line.

Ives thus turned round just two points to the good, 7-5.

The second half saw much of the game played between the two 22s. Both sides were attempting to get the ball wide through the hands, which was not helped by the ball getting caked with mud, despite regular swapping out.

Burry put Ives under a lot of pressure, the Bulls conceding a number of penalties. Entering the last ten minutes, Bury could still not break Ives’ resistance and decided to slot a penalty to take a one point lead.

Ives redoubled their efforts. With less than 5 minutes remaining, some fine approach work with ball retention and support ended with Stuart Cornwell barging over to score, again converted by Cox.

Good game management kept Bury in their own half for the remainder of the match. As was said by both captains post-match, the result could have gone either way, but the Bulls were delighted to prevail.

Final score: St Ives II 14, Bury St Edmunds III 8