Three tries in the space of four first-half minutes gave Worcester Cavaliers a well-deserved victory over Cambridge University.
Mat Gilbert’s try after nine minutes paved the way to victory before Max Stelling and Blake Edwards went over shortly afterwards.
Cambridge, who included Wales international Jamie Roberts in their side fresh from the Rugby World Cup, fought back through lock James Kilroe before taking the game to Cavaliers after the break.
But the visitors weren’t done yet and completed the scoring with a late Jamie Shillcock penalty, try and conversion for the youngster.
Cavaliers started strongly and piled the pressure on the university side as they looked to gain the ascendency early on.
And Mark Hewitt’s outfit found themselves camped in the home 22 for much of the opening ten minutes as they went in search of the opening try of the night.
Cavaliers packed down for a scrum and eventually went ahead after Gilbert took the ball from the back and bundled his way to the line.
Shillcock converted before setting his side on their way to a second try moments later.
The young fly-half found Josh Adams in space down the left, and the former Wales Under 20 international made good ground before unleashing Stelling to race almost half the length of the pitch to touch down.
The tries were coming thick and fast in the opening exchanges and Cavaliers had their third of the night after just 14 minutes as Cambridge failed to cover their right flank, leaving four Cavaliers men free on the wing.
Adams was again involved as he received the ball on the overlap and raced towards the line before offloading to Edwards, who finished from close range.
Cambridge looked to plug the gaps as they found their feet in the match and battled for good possession in the middle of the pitch as the halfway point of the first-half approached.
Wales international Jamie Roberts was providing the hosts with some invaluable experience but, when they did manage to find a way into the Cavaliers 22 after 25 minutes, Carl Kirwan was on hand to turn the ball over.
The hosts’ persistence did finally pay off just before the half-hour mark as they pulled a score back following a driving lineout.
Cavaliers were unable to prevent the home forward pack from driving their way to the line and Kilroe was on hand to ground the ball before captain Don Stevens converted.
The try sparked some life into Cambridge and they came within inches of reducing the deficit further after fantastic work from Sam Farmer.
The number eight broke through the Cavaliers defence, kicked towards the line and would have regained possession one metre out if the ball had bounced in his favour.
As Cambridge came back into the game, Cavaliers ensured they were resilient in defence and held onto their 19-7 lead at the break.
The second-half was a much closer affair as Cambridge took the game to Hewitt’s men and Stevens saw a penalty drop wide in the early exchanges.
The wet ball became increasingly difficult for players to handle and the ball slipped out of Perry Humphreys’ hands after he had raced back to retrieve possession in his own 22 following a home attack down the left.
Cambridge were looking the more likely of the two sides to claim the next try as they kicked a series of penalties into touch.
But Cavaliers were defending brilliantly as they looked to keep the hosts at bay and hold on for victory.
The visitors gained some valuable territory as the match entered its closing stages and Shillcock scored the first points of the second period with a penalty five minutes before the end.
With two men in the sin-bin, Cavaliers took full advantage to add a fourth try of the night as Shillcock took a quick penalty and dotted down, and then converted to earn the young side a second win in three games.
Cavaliers: 15 Perry Humphreys (Butler 70), 14 Josh Adams, 13 Max Stelling, 12 Ravai Fatiaki, 11 Blake Edwards (Helme 74), 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Josh Nott (Allsopp 74); 1 Ryan Bower (C) (Page 74), 2 Ben Sowrey (Singleton 65), 3 Joe Morris (Appiah 40), 4 Dan Sanderson (Hewitt 65), 5 Andrew Kitchener, 6 Carl Kirwan, 7 Sam Ripper Smith, 8 Mat Gilbert
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 James Page, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Jack Helme, 21 Will Butler, 22 Ollie Allsopp
Timeline:
9m: Gilbert try 0-5
10m: Shillcock con 0-7
12m: Stelling try 0-12
13m: Shillcock con 0-14
14m: Edwards try 0-19
33m: Kilroe try 5-19
34m: Stevens con 7-19
75m: Shillcock pen 7-22
77m: Shillcock try 7-27
78m: Shillcock con 7-29