Cambridge Rugby Club hosted finals day, which saw an early kick off between merit table rivals March Bears and St Ives II.

After the first few minutes, the Bulls' supporters were concerned that the match would follow the pattern of the two heavy league defeats earlier in the season.

Bears struck in the first two minutes with a slick handling move to score in the corner, swiftly followed by a penalty after a high shot by Ives.

Having been held up over the line, Bears added another try close in to lead by 15 points in fewer minutes.

Ives shook off their sluggish start and worked their way into the game. Around the half hour, a good spell of pressure saw the Bears offend, Joe Cox stepping up to convert the penalty.

Attacking from the restart, another penalty and Ives had pulled themselves back into the game.

As the half was drawing to a close, another high shot gave Bears the opportunity to add three more points.

Bears had been very strong around the tackle area, but for once over-eagerness gifted Cox another kick in front of the posts. A half time score of 18-9 was a fair reflection of the match to that point.

The second half saw Ives start well. Keeping the ball alive, Shaun Mundy strode a fine line and breached the Bears’ defence on the 22, outstripping the remaining defence to score a converted try. It was now a two-point game.

With over half an hour still to play, the Bulls sensed their opportunity to be the first team to defeat March this season. What followed was an extraordinary defensive display by the Bears.

Ives had countless attempts at breaching the line, eschewing kickable penalties in their efforts to score tries. The Bulls were held up over the line, miscued a couple of overlaps and had the ball dislodged in the process of grounding the ball.

March were hanging on by their fingernails.

With barely five minutes remaining, a strong jackal on their own line saw a penalty awarded and the pressure released.

Salt was rubbed into Bulls’ wounds as the Bears took their chance to go to the other end of the field to score the winning touchdown.

A further penalty added gloss to what had been an extremely hard fought encounter, with the underdogs coming so near to a fine scalp.

Cambs Junior Cup final: March Bears I 28, St. Ives II 16