A tough time in Suffolk for Ely Tigers on Saturday afternoon as they travelled to third placed, Ipswich, writes Steve Wells.

There were a total of 31 players unable to play, and it meant head coach, Des Lloyd, playing players out of position and players who hadn’t played for some time.

At half time, Tigers found themselves 40-0 down, come the final whistle the score ended 94-0.

This coming weekend, the league takes a break, which means some of those injured players will be able to return as the side face Cantabs at home on the October 12.

After the game, club chairman, Andy Gunbie issued the following statement: “As chairman, one of my roles is to travel to away matches and support the first team.

"Today [Saturday] was no exception, we travelled to Ipswich Rugby Club, by now, you will have seen the result.

"We had a tough day at the office, with 31 players unavailable, Des could have taken the easy option and called the game, but not wanting to give away 10 points, a team was pulled together, and the match went ahead.

Three coaches and the youth chairman pulled their boots on to avoid just giving the match away. I am immensely proud of those who played as they showed the true spirit of rugby and demonstrated the pride in the badge we wear.”