Ipswich  18  Westcliff 14

Ipswich’s rebirth continued at Humber Doucy Lane on Saturday as the club’s Southern Hemisphere contingent throttled the life out of a menacing Westcliff XV that has won promotion for three seasons running.

The new-look Ipswich side remain unbeaten in National League Three North-East after coming back from being 8-0 down to outscore the Essex coastal visitors two tries to one, winning 18-14.

Back coach Ian Fraser was a stern figure on the touchline as the Ipswich backline resisted countless and more desperate Westcliff attacks but with the ball in hand the home backs were hungry cheetahs, racing across the lush pitch into open spaces throughout an entertaining match.

An early penalty and then a try out on the left wing gave Westcliff confidence and a deserved 8-0 lead but, as with overcoming an 11-0 deficit against Saffron Walden last week, the yellow-and-blacks flowed through the visitors’ defence to bring the score to 7-8 at the turnaround.

A quick tap penalty from halfway by a chunky Bryn Kerr set the home XV on the rampage and Kiwi Fraser Pratt took the final pass to dummy inside the last defender to swoop round under the posts. Flyhalf Mark Broughton took the extra points with a simple conversion.

From the restart, a galvanised Ipswich staked their claim on the outcome from an early lineout, the backline dancing around the visitors for Zimbabwean Tonderai Mapunde to nimbly waltz through to score near the posts, Broughton again converting.

Ipswich made life difficult for themselves despite looking the more capable side and the game swayed back and forth like a drunken boxer in the final stages. Two penalty kicks apiece ran the clock down as both sides vaguely threatened to cross the line, with Broughton missing one of his attempts.

A staggering number of turnovers handicapped the home side and the league’s largest and strongest loose trio were outdone at the breakdown by the Westcliff terriers. With a National League quality backline just starting to find each other the potential is obvious to any observer but the forward pack fluctuated against a well-drilled Westcliff pack.

Australian Sean Murphy and South African Gert Rossouw were to the forefront in the forwards alongside player-coach Jeff Searle. The new pack is developing slowly and this match was a tough examination up front.

“We struggled at set pieces,” said Searle after the match. “Lineouts and scrum were a mess but we’re working on that in training. We will improve.”
Searle was pleased with the backline’s blatant speed and skill, a direct result of the club’s positive policy of enticing members from further afield.

“These new guys have landed on their feet and hit the ground running,” he said. “There’s a great feeling at the club this season and everybody’s putting a lot of work in.”

Winger Mapunde and centre Mike Ward were electric in an all-star backline and lock Ben Louisson showed his versatility with some storming runs, with this season’s new captain Alex Briggenshaw typically working hard around the pitch in a tensely fought victory.

Ipswich take a week off from the league to visit old local rivals Sudbury this Saturday in the Intermediate Cup.

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