Injury-plagued Wisbech beaten at Ipswich YM

A travelling Wisbech made the long two-hour journey on a cold Saturday afternoon to Ipswich.

Plagued with injuries, a call to arms was raised and Wisbech managed to piece together an 18-man squad.

From kick-off Ipswich had Wisbech pinned back on their own try line.

Outstanding defence led by Kerrie McMullen, Ethan Garford, Luke Green and the ever-present Jiko Jikomainukurua kept Ipswich out for the first 39 minutes until the hosts scored on the stroke of half-time.

Ipswich converted to go into the break 7-0 ahead and with the wind behind them in the second half, they managed to break the line to double their lead.

The Men in Red started to feel the relentless attacking of the Ipswich team at the 60-minute mark and let them in for another two quick tries against the run of play before the final whistle leaving the score at 28-0 in favour of the hosts.

It was a monumental effort all-round with notable heroic efforts from Ethan Garford and Jiko Jikomainukurua but the all-round performance from the ever-improving Luke Green earned him the Wisbech Bowsers man-of-the-match award.

Wisbech director of rugby Leonard Veenendaal said: “With a team missing several familiar faces and with four players making their first team appearance this season, two returning from injury and Viliame Rayawa on debut, it was always going to be a tough challenge against a good outfit like Ipswich YM away from home

“Losing is never nice but credit to the boys they never gave up, put their bodies on the line and we came away with several positives to build on."

Wisbech hosts old rivals Mersea Island at Harecroft Road on Saturday (2pm).