Sunday 7th October 2007 - Beccehamians v Cranbrook Beccehamian 12 - Cranbrook 12 Our recent games against Cranbrook have always been tight and this was no different - in fact it could not have been closer with two well matched sides sharing the spoils. Beccs got off to a good start and camped themselves in the Cranbrook 22 for long periods of the first half. Unfortunately they failed to take advantage of their position and were unable to convert pressure into points. This was largely due to excellent rucking by Cranbrook and their ability to turn us over at the tackle. Added to some lax first tackles we allowed them off the hook. Beccs were made to pay by two well taken, long distance tries that saw them turn round 12- 0 in arrears. It is in adversity that we judge teams and Beccs realised they were staring embarassment in the face. From the kick off a good take followed by quick rucking put Harry Trype into space and he was able to outpace his chasers to score under the posts. Jack Robertson converted to put us back in the game. With the Beccs pack turning on the pressure we again dominated territory but still came off second best at the rucks. Slowly, though we began to exert pressure and began winning quicker ball. After a spell on their line the break thorugh came with a Paul Broadhurst swan dive over a ruck to bring us level. The final minutes could have gone either way but Beccs were left feeling that this was a win that got away. Having said that, it was a good game with a lot of skill shown by both sides. Joe Patterson again covered a lot of ground and there were good performances from new boys Tom Davey and Liam Melville. The most positive aspect was the determination the boys found to win their way back into the game. Beccehamian B 17 - Cranbrook B 29 Not such a close game but in some respects a better effort from the B squad, certainly in terms of application and effort. Cranbrook had one or two of their big runners in their squad and their tries came from long distance. Beccs were outscored in the first half but not outplayed and produced some good rugby. Driven on by a tenacious effort from George Scott, Beccs tackled hard but lacked strike runners to take the game to Cranbrook. The second half saw Beccs come back strongly and exert pressure on their opponents. Robert Hampton turned in a fine performance and was helped by the addition of Ryan Souter and Josh Hewitt who added more go forward. Sam O'Donnell had a fine game and made a nuisance of himself at breakdown time. Beccs slowly clawed their way back into the game with three tries, the pick of the bunch coming from Christopher Carmichael. At one stage it looked as if they might pull it back but they were unable to score again. Overall a good performance in which a number of players showed what they are capable of. Robbie Broadhurst