Rugby Wisbech 0 Ely Tigers 28

Rock solid Ely Tigers denied their hosts so much as a point in a superb performance on Saturday.

Lloyd Palmer’s side kicked off their season in style last week by routing Woodbridge and made it two wins from two by running over three unanswered tries at Wisbech, who were made to pay for their indiscipline.

The victory keeps Ely top of Eastern Counties Division 1 with the visit of Thetford to the Downham Road ground next up this weekend.

After receiving the kick to start, a strong Ely maul was brought down in the opposition twenty-two and Joel Scott Paul kicked the first three points.

Much of the opening 15 minutes were evenly contested between the two sides, with the respective forwards struggling to make an impression.

But when Wisbech did manage a foray forward, they were had hampered by some last-ditch Ely defending and some ill-discipline with ball in hand.

Some good work from Ely’s Adam Featherstone forced a knock-on and, from the resulting scrum, winger Scott Paul made a dash for the line.

He was initially held up but was able to offload to Matt McCarthy for a converted try. The final five minutes of the half were spent in the Tigers’ twenty-two but Wisbech were unable to convert any of their possession into points due to Ely’s defence.

Wisbech were penalised for kicking a player on the floor early in the second half and received a yellow card as a consequence.

From the resulting penalty, the ball came out to man of the match Harry Rogerson who made a storming run before he was brought down.

Another penalty followed for hands in the ruck and McCarthy stepped up and kicked the three points.

The Tigers continued to put on the pressure, causing Wisbech to concede another penalty on their five metre line. The ball was given to Mitchell Kennet who crashed over in the corner and Scott Paul converted.

The Tigers were eager for the bonus point win in the closing stages and committed numbers to the attack.

The ball found its way wide to John Dibb who offloaded to Scott Paul. He looked to be clear of the defence until a Wisbech tap tackle brought him down five metres out. An opposition scrum ensued and Wisbech cleared for touch but were unable to make any ground. Ely won their line-out and a dominant forward maul forced Lee Coulson over for an unconverted try.