March Bears go 24 points clear at top of Eastern Counties League 1 West with Thorney win

March Bears continued their winning ways in Eastern Counties League 1 West with yet another bonus points victory at Thorney.

The 24-12 win keeps March at the top of the table, 24 points ahead of their nearest rivals with six games to go.

March played their normal, fast-handling game with a minimum of ball coming from the set piece in both the scrum and lineout.

The March forwards made up for their lack of size and weight by tackling like tigers while the home side eventually ran out of stamina to leave March deserved winners.

The game started with March generally on the front foot but it took 15 minutes for them to open the scoring.

A quickly-taken penalty eventually found its way to Danny Grieve who followed up to score and Sam Howat added the conversion.

The game was being played at a great pace and there was no give by either side.

Six minutes before the interval, the Thorney forwards combined well after a short penalty and eventually went over for a try which was also converted.

It looked like this was to be the half-time score but with one minute to go before the break, Will Paul set out on a fantastic individual run and just outpaced his back opposition to go over for an unconverted try to give March a 12-7 lead at the break.

The second-half start caught March on the hop and for once their defence failed allowing Thorney to go over for a converted score which also allowed Thorney to take the lead for the first time in the match.

But this March side has great mental strength and were not going to take this lying down.

Ten minutes later, Grieve went over for this second try in the corner to give March a three-point lead.

Thorney’s effectiveness was hampered then by a yellow card for their skipper with 10 minutes in the sin for a repeated high tackle and this allowed March to step up the pace which was not suitable for the heavier Thorney side

The cream the tries of the win came with a great March back move, in that sin bin period, with Sam Chapman finishing it off by beating three men and going over mid-way between the corner and the sticks.

Howat obliged and complemented this excellent score with a conversion

March managed the last 15 minutes well to secure another win.

Man of the Match: Sam Howat for his total security under the high and through ball and for his fast pace in attack.