Cambridge Rugby are expecting their biggest crowd – and biggest test – of their season so far as the Champ resumes this Saturday, with the visit of former Prem side Worcester Warriors to Grantchester Road. Warriors sit second in the table, 7 points off top side Ealing Trailfinders, with five wins and two defeats in their first seven games.
Cambridge Chair Tim Hague can’t wait for the kick off, saying “We have a HUGE visitor coming to town on Saturday in the form of Worcester Warriors. It’ll be a big test of our re-set after a disappointing opening to the season, but Worcester- despite an expensively put together squad- have scraped last minute wins against semi pro opposition in their last two games, so if we can correct the issues we’ve identified in the couple of weeks of downtime, and our supporters turn out in force and roar us on, we could pull off an upset, which would set us up brilliantly for the rest of the season. It should be a great occasion, as Worcester will bring a lot of support. We’d love a massive crowd!”
Head Coach Craig Newby is looking forward to a return to Champ action:
“Summing up Block 1, we’ve put in lots of effort, made lots of errors and taken a lot of learnings from that. I’d add lots of heart, too – one of our big ‘pillars’ is around our fight and the way we hold ourselves, despite scorelines and disappointments. Losing to Nottingham here was heartbreaking – a win would have given us a massive boost and we probably deserved the win. We’re proud of that heart and we bang on that drum every week. We’ve proven, in patches, that we can compete and now it’s about putting those ‘patches’ together consistently. We’ve changed the selection philosophy over recent weeks and given some of the young guys a chance when others haven’t been performing which of course, has meant that, as they’re young, they’ve been brilliant one week and sometimes not so much the next, which is all part of their growth but has added to the inconsistency. We’re all working really hard and going into Block 2 we can use the things we’ve done well, our scrum and line out, and layer on on top of that. We’re in top performers in the Champ in our scrum and line out and our disruption of opposition ball is really good. We’ve go to keep that up and focus on what happens beyond that and increase our effectiveness and sustain pressure.
“We’re galvanised around having consistently been the underdog – it’s how we break that ‘underdog’ tag now and start believing in ourselves and our ability. We’ve got some really good performers – we’ve got 5 or 6 guys who are top of the stats for their position in the Champ and lots of dominant carries. Our top end is good and we’re working hard to build on those positives but our squad strength is a continued work for us to upskill, expose, develop and recruit players to foot it at this level. We’ve got Worcester Warriors here this weekend – ironically we’ve played our best rugby against the stronger sides.I know Warriors Head Coach Matt Everard well – we share a lot of the same philosophies so it’ll be a great contest, a real battle and a tough challenge, It’ll be a great start to Block 2, and if we can rattle some cages we’ll give them a proper game. They’re similar to us in that they were assembled from the ground up at relatively short notice. They’re settling in too – and haven’t always been consistent this season. They’ve got some big threats – we’ll be doing our best to mitigate against those threats and look after our own performance. I want us to hit the ground, and this block of fixtures, running.
“It’s going to be a huge afternoon for the Club, on and off the field. They’ll bring plenty of supporters, plenty of noise, and we’d love our supporters to drown them out and really get behind us – they always do, but we, like they, want more! Stay positive – positive body language and positive encouragement is a must this weekend – our guys are trying their guts out, we have really clear goals and we want to be better. I know it’s been tough for everybody, on and off the field in Block 1 – we face it every week and your support is invaluable, away, and particularly at home on big days like this. We want to take you with us on this journey – you’re a part of us as much as we’re a part of you. We want, ultimately, for everyone to stand up and be proud – especially this weekend. -Come in with your chests out and your heads held high and be proud of your team – and we’ll do our best to make you proud of us”.
Cambridge line-up
15 Ben Currie
14 Taitusi Qaniuci
13 Levi Reweti
12 Jasper Sorrell
11 Eli Caven
10 Otu Mausia
9 Charlie Bemand
1 Jack Boal
2 Jack Dorey-Palmer
3 Billy Walker
4 Jack Lawrence
5 Gareth Baxter
6 Rhys Fulford
7 Dan Eckersley
8 Ben Adams (C)
16 Dylan Irvine 17 Jake Ellwood 18 Paul Wulf Masoe 19 Charlie Friend 20 Chris Mills 21 Jimmy Thompson 22 Joe Green 23 Eparama Rokodrava