Colchester Rugby Club’s 1st team had mixed fortunes in their warm-up games on Saturday against National 2 league outfit Bury St.Edmunds and National 1 team Coventry. Playing at Coventry’s Betts Park Arena ground in sunny then wet conditions the Blacks first took on Suffolk rivals Bury and came out the winners in an hour long game by three converted tries to one. Scorers were hooker Rhys Hartley recently returning from a spell at East Grinstead, talented new centre Harry Keane and flanker Joe Flexman, whose 30 metre run bursting through the Bury defence was the pick of the bunch. The final score was 21-7 as fly half David Higgins converted all of the Colchester tries.

After only a short rest, the boys in Black were back in action against a well-drilled Coventry side whose fresh legs and superior skills overwhelmed them at first despite their best efforts. The home side rattled up six tries in the first half as Colchester tired but stirring words from their coaches at half time helped raise their game after the break and although they conceded three more tries they did manage to score the final try after a tremendous effort by the pack driving the home pack back over their try line for Jerone Awesu to claim the score which fullback James Crozier converted making the final score 59-7.

All in all the nineteen men in black did themselves great credit to go the distance against tough opposition and the experience will be good preparation for the season ahead, starting with a home game at Mill Road against Guernsey next Saturday 3rd September with a 2 pm kick-off.