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RUGBY UNION: March Bears seal the title by humbling Haverhill 2nds
Ryan Tate drives forward in March Bears' 79-7 win over Haverhill 2nds on Saturday. PHOTO: Ian Carter - Credit: Archant
March Bears sealed the Eastern Counties Division Three West title in stunning try-scoring style last weekend.
The Bears demolished Haverhill 2nds 79-7 in their final home game of the season to stretch their lead at the top to an unassailable 12 points.
After observing a minute’s silence for former Bear Paul Partington, March got their winning afternoon off to flier courtesy of an early try from Jack Allison, and Edward Cribb ran in two more tries to extend March’s advantage.
Stewart Rigby and James Knight added the fourth and fifth of March’s tries before skipper Ben Pyle got in on the act following an impressive drive from Simon Whittaker.
Rigby then dotted down his second of three tries to give the Bears a 45-0 lead going into the break.
March continued their dominance in the second period, with Whittaker putting his name on the score sheet just minutes into the half after he broke off from a maul, before Allison ghosted past a handful of defenders to add his second of the afternoon.
Aaron Boxall, Connor Porter and Rigby’s hat-trick nudged March’s points tally over the 70 mark before Cribb completed his treble. Haverhill did eventually find a try late on but it mattered little to March who were already celebrating their title-winning success.
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Club President, Barry Feetham, was in a reflective mood following the full-time whistle. He said: “Today was a truly great team performance from all of the squad and maintaining the intensity of the game for majority of the 80 minutes was quite impressive.
“This is from a group of players who were regularly the whipping boys of the previous league, finishing bottom of the table and coming close to folding.
“Dropping down a league was the right decision to give the club a chance to build its player base, confidence and rediscover what it means to win matches.
“This group of players - not forgetting all the club volunteers - have excelled this season. We’ve still got a long way to go, but with more players wanting to be a Bear and getting involved with the running of the club the foundations have been laid and we’re certainly looking better for the future.”
March take on second-placed St Ives 2nds on Saturday, before concluding their title-winning campaign with a trip to Newmarket 2nds on April 8.
