Tigers in touching distance of title

Eastern Counties Division Two Ely 25 Swaffham 5 DIRECT driving play and the return to form of Lee Kupyn helped Tigers retain their title hopes. Despite a niggling shoulder injury, Kupyn persistently drove the ball forward and allowed Ely to dominate the

Eastern Counties Division Two

Ely 25 Swaffham 5

DIRECT driving play and the return to form of Lee Kupyn helped Tigers retain their title hopes.

Despite a niggling shoulder injury, Kupyn persistently drove the ball forward and allowed Ely to dominate the second half, despite facing a strong wind.

Sam Sanders-Hewett put in a beautiful long rolling kick early on to put Swaffham well into their own 22-metre area, where they remained for some while.

Ed Fahy kicked a penalty to open the scoring, and then Lee Coulson raced away to score a try after a Swaffham fumble.

The wind was making passing difficult but Ely kept play simple and gave little opportunity for the opposition to break, and Fahy kicked another penalty to stretch the lead to 11-0.

A poor clearance from the visitors was caught by Sanders-Hewett, who, jinked and raced downfield before releasing Lee Coulson to score his second try. Fahy kicked the conversion to give Ely an 18-0 half-time lead.

The already fragile Swaffham scrum was dominated by the Ely pack, allowing Alan Mason two strikes against the head.

Then Daniel Coulson was able to pick up loose ball and put Kieran Kennett away on a long blindside run into the visitors 22-metre area, before passing back to Daniel Coulson as the cover came across. He scored under the posts and Fahy converted the try for a 25-0 lead.

Ely continued to dominate but Swaffham scored a single short-range bulldozing try.

Ely now have to win their last three league fixtures to secure the title.