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Friday 20th October 2017
Modern Pentathlon In conversation with Kshitij Sabnis, president of CUMPC 35
Sport
hirteen-man Robinson make history Harry Normanton Senior Sports Reporter St John’s 15 Robinson 17 A missed conversion from the inal kick of the game handed Robinson’s rugby team their irst ever win over St John’s. Having played most of the game with 13 men, and spending most of the inal 15 minutes frantically defending their line, ’Binson seemed to have been denied at the last when the Red Boys’ inside centre crashed over to bring them within two points. But the conversion pinged of the right hand post, prompting wild celebrations from the team in blue and yellow. Going into the game, the odds seemed stacked in St John’s favour. After claiming a clean sweep of trophies last season, and winning the start-of-the-year sevens tournament last week, Cambridge’s traditional rugby powerhouse must have been conident, especially given their opponents were only able to ield 14 players, seven of whom were debutants. But it was Binson who started strongest. A combination of decisive running from the backs and indiscipline from John’s won them a penalty on their opponents’ ive yard line. hey opted to tap and go,
forgoing the chance of three points in pursuit of ive, and their bravery was rewarded when lock Alfred Jacquemot, playing his irst game for Robinson, blasted his way over from three yards out after picking the ball up at the back of a ruck. Wing Edward Butler-Caddle missed the conversion. Robinson led 5-0. heir score came at a cost, though. Talismanic number eight Max Kotz was injured in the build up to the try and forced of for the rest of the match. Undaunted, Binson proceeded to dominate the half. he Red Boys levelled at the 20-minute mark, but Robinson hit straight back, lanker Piers Crowther – excellent all game as the only member of the Binson back row – scooping up a loose ball and diving over in the corner. Butler-Caddle made a stupendous conversion from the far left wing, and Robinson led 12-5. hat would be the score going into half time, as St John’s’ attempts to attack were frustrated by a stream of knock-ons and penalties. St John’s came out for the second half seemingly determined to make amends. Although, for all John’s’ renewed intensity, it was Binson who struck next. Picking up the ball from a ruck on the halfway line, scrum half Max Orviss darted past the irst defender then swerved around two more,
before releasing Butler-Caddle, arriving inside at pace. he wing pounded into his opponents’ 22, and his deft oload to Birch just before he was brought down took Robinson to the brink of the Red Boys’ tryline. After a succession of short blasts from the forwards John’s resolute defensive line inally cracked, and Jacquemot burrowed over for his second try of the game. A missed conversion meant the score was 17-5 to Robinson with 25 minutes remaining. John’s were not going to go down quietly, though. hey continued to run with determination and were more disciplined at the breakdown. Robinson were buoyed by the belated arrival of Alistair Dewhurst, but their two-man disadvantage was quickly restored when captain Rowan Saada was shown a yellow card for a desperate high tackle. A long period of sustained pressure culminated in the Red Boys ploughing over in the righthand corner. After missing a diicult conversion, that made the score 17-10 to Robinson with ten minutes to play. And now the game descended into the surreal. Having held out heroically, Robinson were falling to pieces. Half of the team was hobbling, more than running. But still they kept hurling themselves before wave after wave of John’s’ attackers, who, sensing an unlikely vic-
▲▼ Robinson beat St John’s for the first time in their history (HARRy NORMANTON)
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tory, were crashing into contact with renewed vigour. As fatigue turned into exhaustion, though, Robinson’s defence became increasingly undisciplined. With three minutes to play, Birch was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, hauling down the Red Boys’ right winger just short of the line. Within the next two minutes, two more Robinson players were shown yellow cards for repeated infringements, as John’s won penalty after penalty in search of the inal breakthrough. When St John’s inally broke through as the clock expired, the Robinson 22 resembled something like a battleield, strewn with the broken bodies of defenders. But despair quickly turned to elation as the conversion was missed, securing a victory that will go down in college folklore. Speaking after the game, St John’s captain Russell Hughes said he was not disheartened: “he way we came back into the game in the second half and gave Robinson a run for their money… I’m really proud of them.” Robinson, meanwhile, were simply euphoric. Captain Rowan Saada captured the mood best when addressing his team in the immediate aftermath of victory: “hat was team sport at its best boys. It’s beautiful. It’s just beautiful.”