Three second half tries from Ruddock, Asiedu and Ayrton saw Cambridge overcome a 22-3 half time deficit to steal victory.
Blackheath looked set to end their recent poor run of form, but a scoreless second half only furthered their problems.
Blackheath fielded a heavily rotated side and it was very apparent early on, as they struggled to gather momentum with penalties halting their progress.
Fast Start from the Visitors
Cambridge were first to get on the scoresheet when Ben Penfold slotted a mid-range penalty 10 minutes into the game, but instead of gathering momentum for themselves, it pushed Blackheath forward.
A brilliant break from Clements-Hill just minutes later saw Blackheath come inches to scoring the first try of the afternoon, only for a double movement to bring them back.
However, two lineout steals in quick succession put Blackheath on the front foot and Jake Lloyd crossed the line after a few well worked phases.
Blackheath on the front foot
Blackheath refused to step off the gas and remained on the front foot, with constant pressure leading to mistakes from Cambridge, and when centre James Ayrton was sin-binned for a deliberate yellow card, the floodgates opened.
Using the number advantage, Blackheath used the width of the pitch brilliantly to allow fly half Joe Tarrant to go over in the corner to make it 10-3 with 26 minutes gone.
Costly Mistakes
Cambridge continued to make costly mistakes. Penfold missed touch with a penalty kick which allowed Blacked Captain Markus Burcham to break and feed the ball to Alex Pickersgill who kicked over the top of the defence. The added pressured caused Patrick into spilling the catch, which left Burcham with the easy job of going under the posts to give Blackheath breathing space the score now 17-3 after fly-half Tarrant’s conversion.
Cambridge were back to 15 men but the Blackheath pressure was nonstop and after some more brilliant attacking play, Leo Fielding crossed to give Blackheath a bonus point after just 36 minutes.
The try saw Blackheath go into half time at 22-3 and cruising to victory, but a resurgent Cambridge were determined not to give up.
Despite an early yellow card for Ean Griffiths due to a dangerous tackle, Cambridge took control and eventually scored through Cameron Ruddock who pushed over from a line-out.
Comeback
The comeback continued when an overcooked Blackheath kick from deep found the hands of Kwaku Asiedu who powered his way through three tackles to score under the posts and bring the score to 22-17 with 20 minutes to go.
Blackheath tried to play their way into some momentum before a knock on was seized on by Cambridge and after multiple phases, Mike Ayrton scored to put Cambridge back in the lead.
With 10 minutes to play, Blackheath were desperate to regain the lead and had the chance when Clements-Hill missed a penalty from the 22 metre line.
Blackheath pushed hard in the remaining minutes but a knock on saw Cambridge steal the ball and complete a remarkable comeback.
Blackheath move up to 3rd in the table due to claiming two bonus points, but only due to Rosslyn Park’s game being postponed.
They now sit eight points behind leaders Old Elthamians.
Blackheath return to action next week when they travel to Birmingham Mosely.
Blackheath Team
Forwards; Davis, Fry, Beesly, Stradwick, Peters, Nilsson, Daish, Catt
Backs; Daly, Tarrant, Clements-Hill, Burcham (c), Pickersgill, Lloyd, Fielding
Replacements; Perks, Williams, Owen, Liebenberg, Cooke
Cambridge Team
Forwards; Meek, Griffiths(c), Higgins, Bretag-Norris, Baxter, Fox, Rawlings, McCloud
Backs; Duffin, Rayner, M Ayrton, Penfold, J Ayrton, Asiedu, Patrick
Replacements; Ruddock, Ibrahim, Conquest, Yawayawa, Petrides
