Durham University triumph over Cardiff in high-scoring battle at Llanrumney.
by Lucy Regan
Durham came out on top by 39 points to 26 in the latest round of the BUCS Super Rugby. It means Cardiff remain one from bottom in the league after 7 matches.
The game kicked off with both teams eager to establish an early lead, and it was Durham who were over the line first making it 0-7 within the first ten minutes.
The hosts built up some strong momentum and bounced straight back to make it 7-7 with a try from Archer. Cardiff continued to apply consistent pressure on the Durham defence, crossing for a further two tries from James and MacDonald.
Nearing half time, Durham’s response was emphatic, aided by some powerful carrying from their front row and quick ball distribution from the scrum half, they found a breakthrough to score under the posts. A few more quick successive tries had the boys heading into half time at Cardiff – 19 Durham –26.
The second half saw Durham exert greater control over possession and territory. Their forward pack continued to dominate in scrums causing some forced errors from the boys in white and red. Cardiff were not ready to give up and fought back with another try of their own from Archer, narrowing the gap to 23-29 after a successful conversion.
In the last ten minutes Cardiff pushed to get back into the game, but Durham’s pace proved too much for the side to handle. They added two more tries and a penalty to widen the margin to 23-39.
Cardiff managed one final push scoring a late penalty to bring the score to 26-39, but it was too little too late as Durham sealed the victory with a composed defensive play in the dying moments of the game.
In the end, it was a hard-fought win for Durham who proved to be clinical in the dying moments of the game. However, there are lots of positives for Cardiff to take to the training ground this week. The boys look ahead to next week when they will be hosting last year’s league winners Exeter.
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