Terrific Tigers still in the hunt after Norwich victory

Ely Tigers Rugby v Crusaders (Image: Archant)

In-form Ely Tigers breezed past Norwich to notch up their sixth consecutive win.

Mark Ryder set the scoreboard rolling for Ely after peeling off the back of a scrum and forcing his way over the line for a converted try early on.

And, with first blood drawn, Ely went on to dominate the first half, with Charlie Coupland scoring a hat-trick of tries.

The Crusader’s defence were unable to deal with Coupland’s pace on the wing and all three tries were scored in quick succession, and in a similar fashion, with the ball sent wide for Coupland to maraud along the line.

After claiming the bonus point, Ely were eager to turn the screw and scored four more tries in an excellent second half.

Luke Cornwell scored the first and turned provider for the next, feeding Joel Scott, who darted through the defenders and scored a converted try.

Man of the match Dan Coulson kicked the ball beyond the opposition line and Kevin Houghton was able to pick it up, crash through one tackle and step two defenders to score in the corner.

Harry Rogerson finished off the scoring when the Ely maul was brought down on the opposition try line. Rogerson picked the ball out from the back and sprinted around a static Norwich defence.

The victory keeps Ely in second place in Eastern Counties Division One, just three points behind the league leaders, Southwold.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, when they travel to take on rivals Newmarket.