The last away game of the season saw Chelmsford gain a comfortable win over Barking. Chelmsford always had too much pace in the backs for their opposition and the upper hand in both scrum and lineout.
Barking RFC find themselves in the bottom 4 teams in the league, fighting to avoid relegation and this determination was evident in their early defence. Although Chelmsford had most of the possession and field advantage in the opening twenty-five minutes, only a penalty by Joel Young saw points on the board. But in the last fifteen minutes of the half, Chelmsford well and truly found their feet and four tries - all well converted by Young - were scored. Joel Young had an excellent game at fly-half, facilitating some great pace in the backs and sure footed in his kicking. Chelmsford’s first try saw fullback Tom Acorn snap the ball up when Barking dropped the ball inside their own twenty-two, to score an opportunistic try. Immediately from the restart, Harry Thompson broke away and fed Ross Toomey – back out on the wing - for a good try. Henry Payne – back in his first full game post injury - then got on the score sheet following a forward drive. The final try of the half was easily the best of the game, and, when the ball was relayed at pace to Jack Acorn who flew past the opposition to score.
Half time Barking 0 Chelmsford 31
The second half was somewhat disappointing for Chelmsford and, although they scored a further two tries, they did not match the performance of the first half. It is hard to say whether Chelmsford became complacent due to their 31-point lead, or whether they would have struggled against a stronger team but they were fortunate to keep their lead. Credit to Barking for not letting their heads drop and for scoring two consolation tries late in the game but, fortunately for Chelmsford, it was not enough to swing the scores against them. For the last half an hour, Chelmsford did not have fifteen men on the pitch at any time, suffering two yellow and one red card. Having the overlap allowed Barking to score two unconverted tries. Despite Barking having the edge in numbers, Chelmsford consistently outpaced Barking and Jack Acorn and Jimmy scored a try a piece, one of which was converted by Young.
Next week will see the last game of the season when Chelmsford take on Maldon at Coronation Park, kick off at 3.00pm. Chelmsford faced Maldon for the first time back in November and the Blue Boys triumphed 59-10 on Maldon’s turf. It will be interesting to see how far Chelmsford have come as they take on Maldon on their home ground.