Holt came out on top after a tough afternoon against Cantabs.
The visitors dominated the early exchanges in the first quarter through some very strong drives from their pack. Driving deep into Holt's 22 off a scrum against the head, Cantabs opened the scoring with a converted try following further strong drives from their back row.
From the kick-off Cantabs again dominated, taking the ball deep into Holt's 22 before Ilsley intercepted a loose pass and ran the length of the pitch before passing to Jarry-Ryan to score in the corner for an unconverted try, bringing the score to 5-7.
Again from the kick-off, Holt's Aaron Cole made a run down the blind before off-loading to Jarry-Ryan who, in turn, passed to Ilsley to score Holt's second unconverted try.
Holt now got into their stride, but squandered chances as they went in 10-7 ahead at half-time.
Ilsley again made a charge for the line but was hauled down before Jim Riley made a clean break only for the ball to be illegally knocked down, forcing the referee to award a penalty try, which was converted. Meanwhile a yellow card was given to the offender. Cantabs hit back and drove over for a converted try. The ping-pong scoring repeated itself again as Holt's pack drove into the Cantabs half, allowing Poortvliet to release Riley down the wing. He passed inside to Mears to score Holt's fourth, and the bonus point, converted try, making the score 24-14.
Cantabs pack again took the game to Holt and drove the ball up to the hosts' five-metre line before it was illegally brought down. Cantabs opted for a scrum which resulted in three penalties and three further scrums before they deservedly drove Holt over the try line to score an unconverted try to make it 24-19.
Holt introduced Wright, which injected some much-needed solidity into the pack, which ensured any further attacks were cut down at source. Holt spent the last quarter inside Cantabs half but were unable to score, missing three penalty kicks.
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