This was a disappointing result for Chelmsford, although they did come back from a 26point deficit after the opening half an hour of play. The damage was done in that first half an hour, when Cooperians took full advantage of Chelmsford’s sloppy defence and general lethargy. Playing up the slope and against the wind, Chelmsford gave away too much possession through poor ball retention and they gave away numerous penalties. Cooperians’ first try came from one such penalty; the ball was kicked fifty yards to the corner and a catch and drive saw the opposition secure their first converted try. Two tries were conceded directly from set scrums; one from the scrum half delivering a short, quick pass from the of the scrum and one from the opposition number 8 picking up and bursting through. The fourth try of the half – arguably one of the worse concession for Chelmsford - was conceded, when the ball was passed wide by Chelmsford, deep in their territory only to be dropped and Cooperians hacked the loose ball forward to score a converted try.
Then the game changed dramatically, as Chelmsford decided to keep the ball tight in the forwards and drive the ball forwards, eliminating the risk of penalties being given away from sloppy handling. This tactic saw Chelmsford put points on the board as Andy Cooke scored Chelmsford’s first try from a rolling maul, a try which was well converted by Liam Emerson and, with seconds to go to half time, the consistently brilliant Paul Redford made a typical barging run, fed the ball to Matt Jefferson, who ran 30m unchallenged, before being stopped just inches short of the line. Fortunately Tom Taylor was on hand to dig the ball out and dot it down.

Half time Cooperians 26 Chelmsford 12.

The second half saw a much improved Chelmsford game, although they did not use the wind and slope as well as their opponents had done in the first half. Nevertheless, the Chelmsford forwards gained excellent ground continuing their momentum from the end of the first half. They used the rolling maul and “pick and drive” to great effect; Henry Payne bursting through mere inches from the line before Callum Booth scored for a converted try. Then, following an excellent kick from Matt Dawson, sustained pressure saw Nicolas Crouch score a try, well converted by Liam Emmerson, to tie the scores. With ten minutes to go it looked like Chelmsford would take the game, but ball retention was preventing sustained pressure and to Cooperians’ credit, in the last minute of the game, a period of sustained passing saw their centre go over to grab victory. Chelmsford left the field despondent after a good fight back but after a poor start to the game they simply had too much to do. They should be proud of the way they fought back and use this experience as a cautionary tale ahead of their next game. Next week will see Chelmsford play at home in the cup kick off 2.00pm