Match Report

Ampthill 1st XV 13, Cornish Pirates 30, Greene King IPA Championship League

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Cornish Pirates’ Dominant Second Half Secures Bonus Point Win Over Ampthill

Ampthill welcomed visitors Cornish Pirates for their first ever visit to Dillingham Park’s Grange Jaguar Bowl on a dry, bright & windy afternoon with excellent under foot conditions.

Playing against the wind Amps began well gaining territory through a combination of phase play through the forwards and back play out wide before full back Tomi Lewis produced an elusive run, stepping & gliding through multiple tackles to touch down near the posts on 10 minutes, fly half Louis Grimoldby adding the extras.

Just 3 minutes later Ampthill were denied a second try after the visitors had been penalised 10m outside their 22, Louis Grimoldby’s quick kick to nothing to the corner being gathered & apparently touched down by left wing Sam Baker. Referee Simon Harding overruled his assistant who’d awarded the score despite being some distance away and on the wrong side to observe the grounding.

Having taken play back for the penalty, Louis Grimoldby made no mistake to extend the lead to 10-0.

As the match moved into the second quarter Cornish Pirates began to exert some control through their forwards while Cargill’s boot took advantage of the wind to force the hosts time & again deep into their own territory.

The pressure told with the home side twice penalised in front of the posts allowing Cargill to convert penalty goals in the 17th & 27th minutes.

Ampthill restored the lead to 7 pts with a 33rd minute Louis Grimoldby penalty, scant reward for some fine attacking play.

A missed tackle in the 36th minute then gave the visitors the chance to apply pressure inside Amps 22 where centre Rory Parata squeezed over from close range, Cargill missing what was a relatively simple conversion to leave the score 13-11 at oranges.

Despite conceding a score near half time Ampthill’s connections would have been satisfied to lead at the interval having played uphill and against the wind.

Unfortunately Cornish Pirates produced a dominant second half display with their forwards winning the collisions and their backs using both their size and their offloading skills to carve open the hosts defence.

Pirates outscored the home side 19-0 with tries from right wing Robin Wedlake-Millecam (41 minutes) and a brace from hooker Daniel Frost (54, 70) while Cargill added 2 conversions.

The home side were denied another try after a charge down and foot race saw the referee again overrule his assistant but in truth Ampthill were outplayed in the half.

Final Score

Ampthill: 13
Cornish Pirates: 30

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