Rugby: Bears bite back with derby victory over Ely

March Bears won for the first time this season as they came out on top in the Fenland derby on Saturday, beating Ely 2nd XV 21-7 in a hard fought contest.

March started brightly, attacking the Ely line and an early penalty in front of the posts saw March take a 3-0 lead in what was to be the only score of the first half.

Ely went on the attack and had the majority of possession for the rest of the first half but the Bears’ defence held firm.

In the second half, March started to gain an edge with the scrum working well. March extended their lead with another penalty before James Yeagers went over for a converted try, finishing off a good move. Fly-half Tom Long pulled the strings to put Yeagers into space from the line out to score.

Another penalty from Aaron Boxall put March 16-0 up with 20 minutes to go. March utilised their bench, with six replacements coming on to breathe new life into the tiring line-up.

Ely then came back with a converted try; eventually going over the line after drawing in the March defenders.

March quickly responded with a try of their own from Ben Pyle who took a nice offload from Dan Ryan to drive over the line. The conversion missed leaving the scores at 21-7.

James Knight, Andy Wilson, Dan Ryan, Kris Feaviour all put in solid performances for the Bears, with Aaron Boxall being named man of the match, Boxhall. who stood in at hooker, contributed an impressive 11 points with his kicking.

Club captain Rob Woollard was pleased with his side’s performance, saying: “It was a good effort from the boys and nice to see so many players available after only taking 13 away last week. I’m hoping these good numbers continue at training and our upcoming games.”

March now lie 8th in the Eastern Counties Greene King Division Two West, and will hope to secure a second win of the season when they face Cottenham Renegades on October 24.