Ipswich travelled to Colchester in what was to be a winner takes all encounter for the Suffolk Cup. Playing on the artificial pitch in front of a decent crowd it was clear from the start that Colchester were up for the battle from the off and that they had clearly improved from our only previous meeting this season.

Their pack had a serious weight advantage and they used this to great effect in the opening minutes, dominating our scrum and getting over the gain line on numerous occasions. This drew in our defence and they deservedly took the lead after scoring in the corner, 5 – 0 to the hosts.

Ipswich did not panic and grew into the game as the minutes ticked on. A decent spell of pressure and possession from the boys started to move their defence around and our forwards were making their own gains now. Colchester were defending well but finally Gethin was able to pick from the base of a ruck a couple of metres out and was helped over to score near the posts, 5 – 7.

The boys were now playing with more confidence and the backs were finding more space and starting to click. They got their reward by creating a decent overlap on the left wing which Harry F took full advantage of, 5 – 12.

Colchester rallied and after a long spell near our line after valiant, prolonged defence from the boys, our line was eventually broken just before half time.

Half time: Colchester 10 – Ipswich 12

Fraser gave a great half time talk to the lads, asking them to channel their frustrations and win their individual battles on the pitch, we also needed to play a bit smarter at the breakdown and show a little more patience.

The team responded brilliantly, and the second half was a joy to watch in general. Ipswich looked the more threatening straight from the re-start and the forwards and our midfield were now punching holes in their defence giving our backs the platform to express themselves more. We got the try our play deserved, again making room out wide for Gethin to go over again in the left corner. 10 – 17.

The next try was a great piece of individual skill from Harry F. He kicked into a hole behind their defence, took advantage of the bounce deceiving their full back then fly-hacked the ball next to the left post. Harry showed great pace and composure to dot the ball down to make the score 10 – 24.

Ipswich continued on the front foot closing down any Colchester attacks and using their ball handling skills to move their tiring defence around, but we couldn’t quite add to the score despite creating some great chances.

This was a great game to watch and credit to both teams who gave everything for their clubs. Both sets of players should be very proud of their achievements.

Final score: Colchester 10 – Ipswich 24

This game capped off a great Cup campaign for us, all of the squad have contributed to the 3 games we have played along the way, showing what a talented bunch of lads we have. Well done all, the coaches are proud of you.

Brothers