Warren wins it late to get Ampthill up and running

By BEN WHITE

Ampthill …………28pts Cambridge …….26pts

Tries: Harris 9, Strong 44, Chapman 55, Warren 80

Conversions: Parks 10, 45, 56, 80

Tries: Duffin 34, Brownlee 49, 58, Veness 69 Conversions: James 35, Benson 60, 70

A TRY in the last play of the game from replacement prop Jevaughn Warren secured Ampthill's first competitive win of the season, in Cambridge's opening game in the second tier.

Nine minutes into the contest, Ampthill scored the first try of the game, after creating an overlap on the left hand side, allowing winger Ben Harris to burst into the space, and after fending off a last ditch tackle, dotted the ball down in the corner. Following a brilliant conversion from Gwyn Parks, the Mob were 7-0 up.

Despite struggling in the early stages, Cambridge levelled the score six minutes before the break. After building the phases following a rolling maul, scrum half Kieran Ruffin darted under the Ampthill defence to ground the ball from close range.

Just four minutes into the second half, Ampthill retook the lead, after a clever dummy from Josh Smart off the back of a rolling maul opened up the Cambridge defence, and following a couple of smart offloads, captain Morgan Strong had the simple task of strolling across the tryline.

Cambridge responded almost immediately from a rolling maul from close range, finished off by hooker Ben Brownlie, to close the deficit to two points after a missed conversion.

Ampthill responded with a rolling maul of their own in the 54th minute, with Ben Chapman breaking off the back of the maul before grounding the ball unopposed, extending the lead to 21-12.

Cambridge again closed the gap to two points four minutes later, after yet another rolling maul was finished off by Brownlie for his second try.

With just over ten minutes to go, Cambridge took the lead for the first time in the match, with replacement hooker Morgan Venness scoring their third try from a rolling maul in the second half.

As the clock went past 80 minutes, Ampthill continued to build the pressure and dramatically won the game. A clever tap and go move from five metres out was finished by Jevaughn Warren and a simple conversion from Parks secured the win.

Ampthill head coach Paul Turner said: “It's a win that we needed to get us on the road, and it's one we'll take.”