Eastern Counties One Colchester Thirds 14 Ipswich YM 20 On a bright but raw winter’s afternoon the YM back division that took to the field against Colchester bore little resemblance to the formation that had represented the club for most of the season so far, so injury-ravaged are the YM at present.

Thankfully the visitor’s forwards, nearly up to full strength, were more than up to their task, and took the battle to their hosts, stifling early advances by Colchester, then building up momentum and gaining territory.

In the scrum the hosts’ pack was frequently driven back at speed, in the loose the YM forwards had a lesser, but still significant upper hand, while in the line-outs Colchester edged the contest.

It was only their own indiscipline that denied the YM for a while, and poor handling meant that Colchester’s backs were not able to press home any advantage.

YM opened the scoring after winning a line-out on Colchester’s 22, driving the maul forward for 15 metres, then recycling the ball through two further phases, before Jamie Everson scored wide out on the left.

The second try was similar; starting from a penalty after a high tackle had forced Luke Williamson off the field, blood streaming from his damaged nose, Jack Coomber finishing off this time.

Half-time substitutes stiffened Colchester’s pack, and they gained confidence and possession, but the YM’s eight retained its edge, Shane Head crossing for the third try after a series of scrums deep in Colchester territory.

The hosts then sparked into life, scoring two converted tries, one from deep after a surprise free kick awarded at a scrum, then a second after a concerted forward drive.

With only one point in the match, the YM’s 100% record looked vulnerable, but the forwards picked up the initiative again, forcing Colchester back into defence and into making errors, and the pack drove a scrum over for the fourth, bonus point, try.