The Mens 1st XV returned to Humber Doucy Lane this weekend for their first home game of the season, which had an extra edge to it with the visit of neighbours Ipswich YM. In the absence of club captain Jake Steward, Tom Jermy led the side out with clubman Fraser Goldie his vice, showing the fine leadership that exists in the senior men's squad.

Ipswich started well from the first kick off with a clean catch and a successful exit. We quickly got to work on testing the YM defence and set piece at every opportunity, with many of the early exchanges belonging to the home side. We used our attacking options to good effect and drove hard to make gain line success, while a number of errors from YM allowed us to mount further pressure.

It was the away side who drew first blood against the run of play. We didn't deal with a kick into our half and allowed their wing to scoop up the ball and make a dash for the line. Despite defending the initial break well, we were scrambling to reorganise and YM crashed over to make it 0-7.

The scrum was a major focal point throughout the game with a large amount of time eaten away with resets and collapses. Our front row of Billy Hampton, Tom Jermy and Harry Butler were difficult to deal with and they picked their moments carefully to squeeze out the penalties.

Our set piece strength allowed us to build momentum and pressure in open play with a number of strong carries from across the pack. Eventually, we mauled a 5-metre line-out and the ensuing scramble saw open-side Sam Gould tumble over to open our account.

After the restart, a number of scrum resets and penalties resulted in another line-out drive for us. Scrum half Mo Allen sent the ball wide, allowing the ball to go through quick phase, before the feet and hands of winger Ed Jordan put his fellow winger Oli Garnham through to score in the corner. Callum Murphy added the extras to make the score 12-7.

Some committed defending from Ipswich looked to have spurred the YM response until a ruck infringement coughed up a penalty in front of the sticks which YM sent over. We went into half-time with the score at 12-10.

Concerned that some chances had been left out there in the first half, second half replacement Monty Douglas quickly got things a bit more comfortable. He put himself in a clever position to intercept the ball from YM after they failed to deal with the kick off, giving us the perfect start to the second half.

YM were unlucky not to gain an additional 3 points from in front of the posts after their kicker mishit. We were still dominant in the scrum but were mistiming our efforts to get the penalty, which allowed YM some time in possession. Our defence took the chance to improve on last week's performance with excellent aggression and purpose.

YM eventually coughed up a penalty from 35 metres out, which fly-half Callum Murphy kicked over to make the score 20-10. This inspired a response from YM with some good forwards play crashing over under the posts to bring the score to 20-17.

Scrum pressure once again gave our backs the chance to execute a training ground move to send Oli Garnham crashing over for his second of the game - a very impressive performance from last week's Man of the Match in the 2nd XV. Callum Murphy was once again spot on from the conversion.

The game wasn't done however and YM kicked cleverly to space deep into our 22 which we didn't deal with, once again resulting in a score.

We needed to close the game out and take the confidence out of the away side. That moment came in the final moments with a clever line out move by replacement Leroy O’Neil and skipper Tom Jermy, allowing O’Neil to drive through several defenders and finish on the try line. An impressive way to finish the game.

Lead Coach, Ash Cook, was pleased to get the win:

"We are up and running and that's what is most important. That winning feeling is back amongst us and that brings with it a number of psychological benefits that we will want to build upon. I can't fault the boys’ passion and energy for the badge on their shirt today. We fought hard for each other and found our bite. We know that this league will be incredibly competitive so each game where we don't give away bonus points is vital. We travel to Southwold next week knowing we will need to find another gear again, watch this space!

"The occasion today was like nothing I've seen. A huge turn out of supporters from both clubs and most importantly the spirit the game was played in made for a great occasion and shows the strength of rugby in the area. We will be looking forward to the return leg in the New Year."

Man of the Match: Harry Butler
Match sponsor: Dynamic Fluid Solutions
Man of the Match sponsor: The Lord Nelson

A huge thanks to all businesses and supporters who joined us for our first Match Day Lunch of the season. We hope you enjoyed the great rugby on display and all the entertainment that came with it. Please do consider joining another Match Day Lunch to support the club: see upcoming dates for Match Day Lunches.