Cats prefer rock but get the Blues!

Blues kicked off and the ball was well taken by Will Morris who passed to a charging Dan Dolce who made ground before being caught. The ball was quickly released to Rory then Toby who made ground before offloading to Tom whom was tackled in mid field. Rory cleared the ball out to Aaron who made ground before being tackled. Well picked up by Conor who was tackled over the sideline for a Blues throw. Possession continued to be shared between both sides before another foray into Blues territory led by Conor with good support from Rory, Tom Will Mac and Scott. From a resulting maul the ball was taken on by Dan O then George who made good ground into the Blues 22. Cats win the penalty taken quickly by Rory who goes close before finding Lewis who charges over for a good Cats score. Conversion unsuccessful and Cats lead 5-0 Blues.
Blues kick off and taken by Dan D however Cats offside in the maul and Blues win penalty. Cats then have some defending to do with good tackling by Rory, Dan D, Will Morris, Lewis and Scott. The ball goes loose and is tidied up by George who charges down field before being tackled in the Blues half. The ball is taken on by Rory and Lewis before finding Scott who goes close and the ball is eventually held up over the Blues line. From the resulting scrum Lewis drives on then Dan O but good defence by Blues see them win the ball and clear their lines. Again Cats attack through Will Mac, Tom, Jamie and Aaron before Blues win a penalty which they put out on the Cats 22. Another penalty to Blues see them drive over the Cats line where they are held up. However from the resulting scrum the No. 8 drives over for the try. Unconverted. Score level Cats 5-5 Blues.
From the kick-off Blues run the ball back and despite some good defence in the midfield Blues score wide out. Unconverted. Cats 5- 10 Blues. Cats kick-off and following good pressure on the receiver win the ball with Dan O, Dan D, Rory, Will Mac and Aaron driving to within 10 metres of the Blues line. However Blues win back the ball and run it back to score close to the posts. Converted. Cats 5-17 Blues.
Again Cats kick-off and apply pressure with both backs and forwards driving on. Blues manage to work the ball up field and again score in the corner. Unconverted. Cats 5-22 Blues. End of first half.
Blues kick off for the second half with a changed side but Cats were more than up to the task. A very pulsating even affair with the ball changing hands a number of times but Cats looking the more likely to score. Towards the end of the half Lewis charges to the 22 Blues territory, from the ensuing maul Blues reclaim the ball but it goes to ground. Quick thinking by Tom sees him pick up the ball and run it in for a well deserved score. Converted by Tom. Cats 12-22 Blues. End of half.

The third half sees Blues fielding their strongest side kick-off and again well taken by Will Morris who finds Conor on the charge. In the tackle Blues get more bodies there and win the ball which passes through a number of hands and despite some good tackling by Cats, Blues numbers eventually tell and they score close to the uprights. Converted. Cats 12- Blues 29. From the kick-off Cats go to sleep and Blues work the ball up field for a further score, converted. Cats 12-36 Blues. From the ensuing kick-off George reclaims the ball and passes to Aaron who finds himself isolated and Blues reclaim the ball. Blues attack but Cats maul the ball back and Trent finds space with a good clearing kick to take play 22 Blues territory. The ball is well won and driven to within 5 of the Blues line but they manage to clear the ball and run it wide to get the overlap and score wide out, unconverted. Cats 12-41 Blues. Cats kick-off and Blues take the ball on to Cats 22 however Cats win the ball and Aaron takes it on supported by Rory and Dan D before Toby makes a good run getting over the half however Blues get more numbers to the ruck and win the ball back. They move up field but sterling work by George sees him reclaim the ball and charge up field to the half before finding Will Mac who runs it in to score near the posts, unconverted. Cats 17-41 Blues. From the kick-off Jamie and George take it on but from the ensuing ruck the Ref blows for full time. Final score Cats 17 – 41 Blues.
Another creditable performance from Cats against a very strong Brighton squad. The Brighton coach’s were fulsome in their praise of the Cats performance and said they had not been tested like that for a long time. Again the score line did not reflect the possession and territory which overall was probably 50/50. Cats have taken some good lessons from the two games played to date, especially in support play and speed to breakdown. Again the whole squad played well from the front row of Dan O, Toby and Conor, who not only worked hard in the tight but also made good runs with ball in hand, George and Jamie in the second row who had storming games ably supported by Dan D, Will Morris and Lewis in the loose. Rory and Tom provided an excellent half back combination with Trent slotting effortlessly into inside centre and Will Mac menacing at outside centre. Aaron, Keiran and Jack Walsh played well on the wings while Scott once again held down the full back position. Once Gordon had located his mouth guard he again showed good skills in the midfield.