First half neglect leaves Cam Wells and truly shocked

CAMBERLEY saw themselves slip off the top spot in Regional One South Central on Saturday as they suffered their first home defeat of the campaign.

After a week off following their huge efforts at Havant on January 13, Michael Clarke’s men returned to the Watchetts to take on another of their title rivals in Tunbridge Wells.

But Camberley were left stunned at half-time as they went into the break 17-0 down with winger George Owen still in the sin-bin following a high-tackle.

Although the home side managed to kick into gear in the second period, it was not enough to prevent the visitors returning home to Kent with a 22-17 success, avenging the 41-33 defeat Camberley had inflicted on them back in October.

Tunbridge Wells showed great desire and heart from the outset, and looked to put their hosts under scoreboard pressure as Ben Day fired over a second-minute penalty from the halfway line.

The visitors grabbed their first try of the match eight minutes later when full-back Michael Doherty exploited a gap in the Camberley defence to score close to the posts following a fine break from No 8 Ben Whale. Day added the extras for a 10-0 lead.

The hosts were, at times, architects of their own downfall in the first half as too many handling errors and poor decision-making prevented them from getting a foothold into the battle. And while Tunbridge were the dominant side, it took them until late in the first period to increase their lead.

A break from Josh Curtis saw him cross the Camberley line, however winger Owen came in from behind and went over the shoulders of the Tunbridge Wells blindside flanker to hold the ball up.

But as the Camberley man thought he had made a try-saving tackle, the referee awarded a penalty try and brandished the yellow card to Owen.

The visitors went close to increasing their lead even further on the stroke of half-time as they drove forward, but the Camberley defence held firm.

The hosts came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second period and they won a five-metre attacking scrum after Dominic Sammut

had charged down a Tunbridge Wells kick.

Pressure from the home front eight allowed scrum-half Max McCarthy to secure the ball and snipe over for a try. Ray Morunga added the extras to close the gap to 17-7.

The visitors, however, were not going to be denied and after stealing possession from a Camberley lineout, managed to ship the ball out wide and go through the phases to help Curtis cross for Tunbridge Wells’ third try of the day.

With the game looking seemingly out of reach for the home side, Matt Bowers raced home for Camberley’s second try following more good work from McCarthy. However, the difficult touchline conversion fell short.

Maciu Nabogi, who had come to life in the second period after a sedate start, gave Camberley hope of a stunning comeback as the No 8 dotted down following a good home lineout.

Camberley looked to snatch at least a draw in the closing stages of the match, but Tunbridge Wells held firm.

CAMBERLEY director of rugby Michael Clarke felt his side left it too late before they kicked into gear as they suffered their first home defeat of the Regional One South Central season on Saturday.

After their 34-34 draw at Havant on January 13, Camberley found themselves 17-0 down at half-time against title rivals Tunbridge Wells at the Watchetts.

And while the home side out-scored the visitors in the second half, it was not enough as the Kent men returned home with a 22-17 success.

“I think there was a bit of a hangover from Havant and the effort and energy that went into that, we always struggle after a week off,” Clarke said.

“It is a really long year and it is tough to be where you need to be for 80 minutes every single Saturday, and Tunbridge Wells, to their credit, came in and worked from minute one to minute 80 – they were desperate to win and that showed in the end result.

“I wouldn’t say it was not enough [in the end], I think we had more than enough, I think we just left it too late.

“For our energy to go that high with 30 to 40 minutes to go [shows that], if you look at the score in the