Rugby Report: St Ives against Huntingdon by Phil Brown.
The Bulls welcomed nearby rivals Stags to the Chicken Shack on Sunday having been humbled twice by the same opposition last season.
Ives started at pace, but could find no way through stiff defence from Huntingdon. Ill discipline and the concession of four penalties in quick succession gifted Stags a line-out close in from which they trundled over.
With Alex Henly in the bin, Ives realised they had to front up and did so immediately, putting the visitors on the back foot.
Despite charging runs by the likes of Dan De’ath and Tommy Newman Ives could not breach the green wall.
After a frustrating half hour, skipper John Paxton finally unlocked the Stags’ defence with a delicious delayed pass to the direct line of Ollie Raine who scored under the posts. Charlie Mandley converted to take the lead.
From the kick off, Paxton was again to the fore. He broke tackles to start a sweeping move up the pitch. With Huntingdon defending desperately, Ollie Bartlett finally crashed over for a score.
Ives were again down to 14 as Mandley joined a Stags player on the sidelines for a ten-minute yellow rest, but it did not stop their surge. As the half closed, Stags could only prevent another score through offending and Joe Cox slotted a penalty. Half time 15-5.
Stags turned to use the slope and started the second half with purpose. Fine defence across the park kept them out until another line out close in saw Huntingdon score another unconverted try.
With only five points in the game, Ives swift line defence was putting Huntingdon under pressure. Paxton anticipated a pass well and intercepted. Tackled a few yards short of the line, he offloaded to the supporting Ben Fleming who scored, converted by Cox.
With the heat and hard ground causing players on both sides to flag, the benches were emptied.
Ives suffocating defence again caused problems for Stags and as the ball went to ground again, the returning Mickey Drake swept in for the conclusive score. Again, converted by Cox.
Final Score: St Ives 29, Huntingdon 10.
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