Thurrock 34 Chelmsford 28
(London 1 North league)
Chelmsford gave 4th placed Thurrock a mighty shock at Oakfield at the weekend, as they led for 65 minutes of this absorbing and entertaining game, only to concede 3 tries in the space of 5 minutes, for the home side to effectively take control of the proceedings and establish a match winning lead of 34 – 14, however, in the last 10 minutes, Chelmsford took the game to the home side with some battling qualities and scored two converted tries to finish the game with a flourish and come away with a vital bonus point. Despite this, however, they still remain in the bottom 3.
The way they fought to the end after conceding some sloppy tries, pleased Chelmsford Coach, Eddie Gooby no end. He said after the game: “The players put in a massive shift yesterday and deserved the bonus point if not more. I thought we were in control for much of the game until Thurrock had to go to an uncontested scrum, which allowed them the go forward ball which we had worked so hard to deny them. I am buzzing after this game, as we showed the passion fight and skill levels, which I am sure will push us on to better things. Both myself and the coaches could not have asked for much more from the players and they gave everything from numbers 1 to 18. If we can maintain this level of performance over the coming weeks we will be heading in the right direction in this league. We have another massive opportunity this coming weekend against CS Rugby 1863 to see how we have developed against another top team in this league and I can’t wait to see if we can take this game to a new performance level.”
Chelmsford started the game strongly with a lovely kick from fly half Simon Hoult, deep into the Thurrock 22. Chelmsford were awarded two penalties in quick succession after Thurrock were penalised twice for collapsing the scrum, but unfortunately for the visitors, they lost possession at the vital moment. A free kick and two more penalties saw Chelmsford eventually take the lead after 10 minutes from a 35 metre penalty kick from Simon Hoult. To the home side’s surprise, they found the Chelmsford scrum to be a handful and props Steve Prest and Miles Pitcher and Hooker Dave Hyett gave their opposite numbers a torrid time.
Eventually the home side found some pattern to their play and they themselves received 4 penalties on the trot. From one of these they hit the crossbar but couldn’t come away with a score. In the 23rd minute they drew level when Chelmsford were penalised, but just 2 minutes later Chelmsford regained the lead when Simon Hoult kicked another penalty, after Thurrock collapsed the scrum. Just after the restart, Thurrock were in possession and Simon Hoult found himself in the clear after an interception, but the referee penalised him for being marginally offside. With the ensuing penalty just inside Chelmsford’s 22 metre area, Thurrock drew level at 6 points each. Simon Hoult then regained the lead for Chelmsford at 9 – 6 with a great penalty kick from fully 45 meters out wide. The last 8 minutes of the first half saw Thurrock put pressure on the Chelmsford defence, a break down the right handside flank saw the Thurrock right wing held up over the line after some great defensive work from Chelmsford. From the scrum 5 metres out, Thurrock attacked the Chelmsford line again and some impressive drives through the phases saw the home side go over the Chelmsford line, but once again some sterling defensive work saw the ball held up. Two further scrums ensued, but the final one saw Chelmsford drive their opponents backwards and a knock on by the home side, saw the referee blew his whistle for half time, with Chelmsford leading by 9 – 6.
The 2nd half was only 1 minute old and with Chelmsford in possession, fly half Simon Hoult delivered a beautiful chip kick over the opposition’s cover defence and the loose ball was fly kicked forward by a Thurrock player, which rebounded off one of his team mates, causing the ball to go backwards towards the Thurrock try line and Simon Hoult won the chase to touch the ball down for an excellent try to take Chelmsford into a 14 – 9 lead. Shortly afterwards, Thurrock knocked the ball on and then from the scrum the home side were penalised once again for not standing up and the referee yellow carded Thurrock’s loose head prop. A few minutes later a scrum was awarded to the home side inside their 22 metre area, but unfortunately for Chelmsford with previous injuries to Thurrock’s front row, the scrums went uncontested and from the scrum the ball went down the Thurrock backline and with some missed tackles, Thurrock’s full back came into the line at pace and scored a converted try by the posts. Chelmsford were now hanging on to a 14 – 13 lead.
In an effort to freshen up the side, Coach Eddie Gooby used all his substitutes in the 2nd half, notably, Ben Padmore, Dominic Dann and Zane Mannan. Thurrock were now starting to up the tempo to their game, using both their strong running pack and backs to run at the Chelmsford defence. Unfortunately for the visitors they now conceded 3 converted tries in the space of 5 minutes, for Thurrock to effectively take the game away from them. The first was from a rebound off the posts, following a missed penalty and the other two by exploiting gaps in the defence on their blindside. From being 14 – 13 up, Chelmsford suddenly found themselves trailing by 34 – 14. At this stage the heads could have easily dropped and Chelmsford could have found themselves on the wrong end of a high score, but credit to the players, they dug in, found some inner strength once again and the last 10 minutes of play saw take the game to the hosts.
10 minutes from the end of the game and just inside Chelmsford’s half, Simon Hoult intercepted a Thurrock pass and he managed to evade the cover and stride over the line for a converted try to reduce the arrears to 34 – 21. Continuing pressure from Chelmsford in the Thurrock 22, saw them being awarded a series of penalties and with 3 scrums near the Thurrock line, the pressure told and they eventually scored through skipper Paul Redford. With Simon Hoult converting, the final score of 34 – 28 to Thurrock, meant Chelmsford went away with a vital bonus point and Hoult himself ended the game with a personal tally of 23 points.
This coming weekend sees Chelmsford entertain CS Rugby 1863, for what should prove to be another stern test for this young Chelmsford side. Kick off is at 2.00pm at Coronation Park