Ely Tigers Rugby Club defied stormy conditions to return to winning ways thanks to four-try hero Matt McCarthy leading the Tigers to an emphatic 43-13 win.

The Tigers had lost their last two league games, and it looked as if this one might go to the wire with the score only 12-8 at the break, but the Tigers blitzed Cantabs in the second half, running in five tries to secure victory.

The game's first try came after eight minutes when Matt French crossed the line for an unconverted try and a 5-0 lead.

Ely Standard: The Tigers handed high-flying Cantabrigians only their second league defeat of the season.The Tigers handed high-flying Cantabrigians only their second league defeat of the season. (Image: Steve Wells)

The five-point gap was quickly wiped out from the restart when Cantbas won a penalty in front of the posts, which they duly kicked over to make it 5-3.

The home side then took the lead when they charged down a Tigers clearance to score an unconverted try to make it 8-7.

The first half was an end-to-end affair, with both sides failing to get a firm grip on proceeding until the instrumental McCarthy scored his first try of the game after good work from new signing Jeremy Darley.

Ely Standard: Several new Tigers put in a impressive showing on their debuts.Several new Tigers put in a impressive showing on their debuts. (Image: Steve Wells)

Paul Dewey added the conversion to hand the Tigers a slender 12-8 lead at the break.

Straight after the restart, McCarthy scored his second, combining with Darley again, backing up his break for a converted score, adding daylight between the sides.

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The Tigers had the momentum and began to apply significant pressure to Cantnabs, allowing  Jerome Scott Paul a converted try, but poor tackling allowed the home side to score a try of their own and reduce the gap to 26-13.

Ely Standard: The Tigers never took their foot off the gas on their way to a statement victory. The Tigers never took their foot off the gas on their way to a statement victory. (Image: Steve Wells)

That was as good as it would get for Cantabs though, with McCarthy scoring two more tires on either side of a Jim Storey maul try to put the home side to the sword with a relentless second half performance.

Dewey only added one more conversion to make it 43-13, pushing the Tigers to sixth in the Counties 1 Eastern Counties league ahead of a week's break before returning on November 4 to host Wisbech.