COLCHESTER 38

SUDBURY 3

London League division one north

COLCHESTER'S pack dominated their opposition to secure a comfortable win over rivals Sudbury.

It was a bitterly cold and wet day but this did not deter the hosts' pack from bossing the scrum throughout, despite the fact they had the wind against them in the first half.

Within the first ten minutes, three scrums were awarded and Colchester pushed their opponents back every time.

Eventually, Sudbury were awarded a penalty for a crossing infringement by Colchester, which resulted in the visitors scoring their only points.

From the restart, Colchester were awarded a penalty.

David Higgins kicked for the line, which led to a successful lineout, and from the ensuing surge by Colchester, number eight Brock Price scored the first of his three tries.

The Colchester pack continued to make an impact with both prop James Mitchell and flanker Dan Whiteman working hard for the ball during a passage of play which led to a penalty.

The maul which resulted moved towards Sudbury’s line but a Colchester infringement led to another Sudbury penalty.

However, the visitors failed to take any further points.

In fact, the botched kick by Sudbury led to a great run by scrum-half Brett Cutbush but the slippery ball led to a mishandled pass and a Sudbury scrum.

Once again, Colchester won the scrum and, following some great running by wing Dave Brennan and centre Damien Bramley, the ball found its way to Price and Colchester celebrated his second try.

From the restart, Colchester had a great period of attacking play leading to a converted try by prop Mitchell just before half-time.

In the second half, the weather deteriorated but not Colchester’s determination to please the home crowd, who had braved the elements. Colchester dominated the play and thought they had scored but the referee deemed the ball to be held up.

The ensuing scrum led to a score for the bonus-point try by Cutbush.

From the restart, Whiteman moved the play forward resulting in a precision kick by man-of-the-match Higgins.

From the lineout, a series of scrums and further lineouts ensued which Colchester eventually turned to a score for an unconverted third try from Price.

At this point, the coaches brought on Rhys Hartley for Dan Brennan, Ollie White for Price and Matt Wadling for Cutbush.

This new boost of energy kept Colchester in a commanding position, leading to a great interception by newcomer Kevin Tavainavesi, playing in the centre, who went over for Colchester’s final try, giving a final score of 38-3.

Colchester will restart their promotion campaign on January 5 when they play at Ruislip.