Chelmsford 25 Harlow 57
London N.E. Division 2
Playing down the slope in the first half it was immediately apparent that Harlow were ready to keep the ball in hand, as much as possible, and run the ball from almost anywhere. The game was only 5minutes old when excellent handling from both the Harlow backs and forwards brought about a converted try under the posts. A second try for Harlow was scored minutes later when poor tackling around the base of the scrum by Chelmsford allowed for the easiest of tries. Sid Hoult reduced the deficit with a well taken penalty from 40 metres. Harlow increased their lead after a swift heal in the scrum and a good ball relay to the outside centre to make it 17- 3 after only half an hour.
For the next 20 minutes Chelmsford had their best spell of rugby so far this season scoring three tries. Firstly, Sid Hoult fed Will Ferrier on the burst for an unconverted try. Then Ross Toomey made a 50 metre break before the resulting scrum was fed wide and quickly to Jack Acorn who went over for an unconverted try. Finally Anthony Butt intercepted a pass some 70 metres out and showed a clean pair of heels to the covering defence. Half Time Chelmsford 20 Harlow 17.
It was only 5 minutes before Harlow had regained the lead with a converted try. It has been a feature of the Chelmsford games this season that they have been very vulnerable at the start of either half.
At this stage Chelmsford had all their substitutes on due to injuries of starting players. The tackling of the Chelmsford side was also lacking and two further tries ensued for Harlow through this lack of defence.
Chelmsford did score a fourth try and secure a bonus point when Tom Day went over for a try. But by now Harlow were dominant with back row running riot, three further tries were scored in the last 10 minutes. Final Score 25 -57
There are signs of improvement in the Chelmsford team, but at the moment they are very vulnerable around the rucks and mauls. In the lineout, in defence, much too easy a ball is given to the opposition. A number of injuries occurred in the Chelmsford team on Saturday and that does not bode well for the next few games
After the game DOR Eddie Gooby said
I was really proud of the players in the first half we showed a lot of character coming back from 17-3 after a feeble sin binning to lead 20-17 at half time
The second half was a total disaster in terms of injuries and other elements out of our control
No team can expect to cope with five injuries and two sin bins. At one stage we had only eleven players on the pitch but we tackled everything that moved until we run out of players .
I was pleased when we the team score our fourth try to gain a bonus point it was no more than the players deserved
Next game Home against Barking Essex Cup K.O. 3.00pm