MARCH Bears bounced back to form to beat Bourne in a friendly at the weekend.
Tries from wingers Jimmy Beresford and Gile Low and a debut senior try from scrum half Billy Yorke sealed the victory and boosted confidence back into the team following
last week's defeat at Shelford.
From the start March took control of the set piece. Veteran front row pair Mark Pauley and Gary Howlett both impressed in the scrum and the combination of skipper Todd Woollard looking for his first international call up and Paul Galloway jumping well in the line out secured plenty of ball for the backs to work with.
The first score of the afternoon came as Beresford recreated last week's effort by slipping his defender and racing to the line to make it two tries in two games, Matt Day's unsuccessful conversion took the match towards half time with a slender five-point lead.
March continued to attack in numbers but were held back by the Bourne defensive line. Eventually Billy Yorke saw the gap and grounded the ball for a well -deserved try. This time Day kicked the extras and the half ended with March in a comfortable 12-point lead.
Without substitutes available, March continued the second half unchanged. Within minutes, Gile Low was crossing the line to extend the Bears lead. Again Matt Day's kicking was adrift but the team were still happy with their 17-point advantage.
With Bourne bringing on substitutes, March needed to dig deep into their fitness levels to sustain the constant Bourne pressure.
A well-worked move down the back line saw the Bourne winger sneak through into the corner and ended up under the posts to bring the home side right back into the game.
The conversion brought Bourne just 10 points behind March with just 15 minutes left on the clock.
With victory in their sights, March attacked the length of the pitch deep into the opposition 22, a long floated pass by Mark Pauley found fellow March legend Jamie Kerse heading towards the line but his opposite number defended well and the attack seemed to be over.
Quick play from the March backs shipped the ball back across the pitch with Galloway powering his way over the line. The unsighted referee judged the ball to be held up resulting in a scrum for the Bears with barely minutes left to play.
A knock-on at the base of the scrum conceded a turnover for Bourne who were able to clear their lines as the game drew to a close giving March a well-earned victory.
Next Saturday March host St. Ives in a double header league and cup game. All players are urged to attend training on Thursday night and all supporters are welcome to come and cheer the team on Saturday afternoon.
