Hartpury thrash Cambridge as Smith scores fantastic hattrick
by Olly Darcy, at College Ground
Hartpury continued their fine attacking play, scoring nine tries in a 61-10 victory over Cambridge at the College Ground.
The home team earned a seventh win of the season and kept their great form going. However, it was a far from perfect performance, with Hartpury head coach Mark Cornwell agreeing.
“It was far from a perfect performance,” said Cornwell. “It was very scrappy at times, but I don’t think the conditions helped. We scored some great tries, and we got 60-plus points, so you can’t moan too much!”
“When you've scored 40-odd points the first half, you expect it to carry on like that, and often it doesn't. But credit to Cambridge, they came out and stopped us in our tracks a bit.
“But it was a great performance. The boys played with a lot of confidence and scored some fantastic tries as well. Across the board, everyone played well. It’s a team effort, and there was good stuff out there.”
Hartpury got off to the perfect, taking the lead with just four minutes on the clock thanks to Morgan Adderly-Jones, who dotted the ball right under the posts.
Some poor handling from both teams meant no one took the ascendency in the opening exchanges, but the home team then added a second through centre Robbie Smith, who finished off a lovely move off the scrum.
Cambridge then answered back through winger Kwaku Asiedu, but Alex Morgan crossed over just a minute later for Hartpury to give them their third try. Tries four and five were added by Smith again and Louis Hillman-Cooper to make it a five-try first half.
Top scorer Bazalgette did not return in the second half after sustaining an injury, but it didn’t stop a relentless Hartpury. Try number six came just two minutes into the second half through scrum-half Mike Austin. Jake Morris took over kicking duties and was brilliant off the tee, only missing one conversion.
After that, Cambridge came into the game and played to their strengths, not letting play through the backs. But the Hartpury defence stayed strong throughout and did not let Cambridge break through, and Harry Short scored off a brilliant lineout move.
Smith popped up once again for his hat trick, and then substitute JJ Williams scored the ninth Hartpury try on his debut. Cambridge answered back with the clock in the red with a consolation score through replacement outside centre Tom Hoppe, but the score line was a resounding one.
Cambridge coach Richie Williams spoke after the game and was "disappointed with the outcome."
"In the first half especially, if you lose possession in the middle of the pitch, you’re going to get punished. It’s never nice to concede 60 points. We’ll review the game, and there’ll be some difficult conversations”
Hartpury will hope their fantastic attacking form continues when they travel to Nottingham, while Cambridge will entertain Bedford at home next week.
Hartpury 61 Cambridge 10
Hartpury:
Tries: Morgan Adderly-Jones 4, Robbie Smith 12, 24, 73, Alex Morgan 19, Louis Hillman-Cooper 35, Mike Austin 42, Harry Short 59, JJ Williams 76
Conversions: Harry Bazalgette 4, 12, 19, 24, Jake Morris, 35, 42, 59, 73
Penalties:
Drop Goals:
Cambridge:
Tries: Kwaku Asiedu 14, Tom Hoppe 80
Conversions:
Penalties:
Drop Goals:
Team line-ups (15-9; 1-8):
Hartpury: Jake Morris, Louis Hillman-Cooper, Robbie Smith, Morgan Adderly-Jones, Alex Morgan (Brad Denty 69), Harry Bazalgette (Charlie Powell 31), Mike Austin (JJ Williams 72); Aristot Benz-Soloman (Mikey Summerfield 61), Ethan Hunt (Will Crane 61), Jon Benz-Soloman (Joe Rees 61), Freddie Thomas, Jack Davies (C), Sam Lewis (Dale Lemon 69), Harry Short, Josh Gray (Jarred Hayler, 56)
Not used: N/A
Cambridge: Eli Caven, Kwaku Asiedu, Sam Hanks (Tom Hoppe 66), Matty Williams, Joe Green, Steffan James (Lawrence Rayner 48), Kieran Duffin (Toby Dabell 48); Jake Ellwood (Huw Owen 59), Ben Brownlie (Morgan Veness 59), Billy Walker (Matt Collins 50), Kieran Frost, Gareth Baxter, George Bretag-Norris (C) (Benji Hope 44), Ben Adams (Matt Dawson 44), Nahum Merigan
Not used: N/A
Referee: Sara Cox
Attendance: 1,312
Half-time: Hartpury 35-5 Cambridge
Star man: Robbie Smith
Stats:
Hartpury:
Penalties conceded: 7
Line-outs won: 4
Line-outs lost: 1
Scrums won: 4
Scrums lost: 3
Sin-bins/Reds: 0/0
Cambridge:
Penalties conceded: 7
Line-outs won: 3
Line-outs lost: 2
Scrums won: 4
Scrums lost: 1
Sin-bins/Reds: 0/0
