Ely's pink away shirts were the only vaguely warm looking thing on a freezing Southwold Common on Saturday but that warmth was obliterated by a Wold pack who were simply on fire, and each of the five Wold tries was touched down by a forward to prove the point
This top of the table clash in Eastern Counties One had been eagerly awaited by both teams and the huge crowd that braved the biting temperatures to watch the game were treated to one of the best games of rugby seen on the Common for many years with both sides going at each other hammer and tong for the whole 80 minutes
On the day the Ely backs just out performed the Wold back line in attack but both were evenly matched in defence but the Wold pack crushed Ely in the scrum and dominated the lineout all afternoon
It was the visitors who opened the scoring when right from the kick off the ball went deep into the Wold twenty two, and from the first scrum the Ely No 8 went to the blind side and fed their scrum half to score an easy try, really before Wold knew what had happened and the try was well converted from the touchline
Within a minute however in a frantic start to the game Wold were awarded a penalty and kicked for position in the right hand corner and after Webb caught the ball at the back of the line, the pack gathered for a strong drive, kept the ball well repeatedly battering their way across the pitch with great short offloading and Adam Smith at prop eventually touched down under the posts but the conversion was totally fluffed to leave Ely two points ahead
Five minutes later however a repeat of the penalty and lineout this time saw Webb keep the ball himself and with the help of the pack was driven over for Wold's second try but again the conversion was missed from wide on the right but Wold had got their noses deservedly just in front for the first time against a strong wind and with the bright sun constantly obscuring their vision when the ball was in the air
Both teams continued to batter each other but there was no further addition to the
10 - 7 score line until the stroke of half time when James Hall broke at pace from a Wold lineout and darted across the pitch but the break was not fully supported and Hall was penalised for holding on right on the centre spot and the superb kick that followed with a little assistance from the wind evened the scores at the break
Ely took the lead straight after the break with a further penalty for offside, but after quarter of a hour of nearly all Wold possession, and some near misses, Jonny Stevenson at seven drove for the line following another Wold lineout win and offloaded beautifully to Tim O Connell to crash over for Wold's third and this time the kick was good to restore a four point lead to Wold and if they didn't already know the crowd now realised this game was something special with both sides going hell for leather for the win.
Five minutes later Wold increased their lead with a devastating push over try with Duncan Hume at eight controlling the ball well and touching down at the back of the scrum, and with the conversion good, the lead increased to 24 - 13
Showing great heart it was Ely who scored next with a forward drive of their own and the try was again well converted from wide to narrow the lead to only four points with fifteen minutes still to go and the travelling Ely fans were getting really excited as a great comeback seemed suddenly possible
Wold raised their game to yet another level and all over the pitch their defence held strong and the game was finally made safe when with only four minutes of time left on the clock, the Wold pack stepped up and repeated their earlier push over try for Hume to score his second and break the Ely hearts and with the kick from wide missed the score remained at 29 - 20 till the final whistle
Both teams got a deserved huge ovation from the spectators at the close but on balance the stronger team had won the day by five tries to two and Wold had gained another bonus point off their closest challengers to increase their lead by a further five points at the top of the table and make it incredibly fourteen wins from fourteen games and a little step nearer to promotion for the Wold heroes
Truly a game, and a day, to remember for all who braved the cold to witness it

MOM v Ely : Adam Chunk Smith

Arn the Wold !!!