Ely proved to be the winners in a tightly fought contest, outscoring Holt by four tries to three. Both sides were well placed in the league table before the match, in third and fourth positions in London 3 Eastern respectively. Holt however went into the game after a defeat against leaders Southwold and took some time to settle and display their best form.

The home side suffered a disappointment early on when hooker Tim Allen, on of this season’s star players, was carried off with injured ligaments after just two minutes. There followed a period of play in which, through aggressive defence and determined efforts at the breakdown, the two sides cancelled each other out. There was no scoring in the first quarter of the match. After twenty minutes the deadlock was broken with a stunning individual try by debutant Hugh-Cabbell-Manners: gathering the ball on the retreat he turned and swerved through the heart of the Ely defence. James Wyatt, who proved reliable throughout, converted.

It was Ely, however, who then took control of the game. Wing-forward John Dibbs scoring after a concerted move amongst the three-quarters. Captain Joel Scott-Paul converted and shortly afterwards added a penalty. A driving lineout then lead to a second try for the visitors, this time from hooker Nathan Brooks, with Scott-Paul again converting. This made the half time score 17-7 to the visitors

The momentum shifted immediately after the interval. James Wyatt added a penalty for Holt and then, following excellent passing from set play, Holt centre Aaron Tagg scored under the posts giving Wyatt an easy conversion. The scores were equal and the game in the balance. However the final quarter proved frustrating all round with disruptions caused by injuries and a high penalty count. Towards the end Ely showed slightly greater stamina and good inter-passing between forwards and backs gave Brooks a second try. Scott-Paul again converted and to cap an excellent afternoon shortly afterwards added a try in the corner following a breakaway move. Although this was not converted it gave his side an unassailable lead. A second try for Hugh Cabbell-Manners came too late to affect the result, which was probably a fair reflection of the game.

A losing bonus point will offer little consolation to Holt as any promotion prospects are slipping away in what is proving to be a season of recovery and consolidation. They will, however, take heart from some excellent individual performances. Two players made their first start for the First XV, Cabbell-Manners, and Jack Moore who was a late replacement at scrum-half. Fittingly Cabbell-Manners was Holt’s Woodforde’s Man of the Match

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