This game was played under the most atrocious conditions with a gale blowing down the slope of the pitch and continuous rain throughout the match. Both teams and the referee deserve a great deal of credit for providing an action packed encounter. To give an indication of the strength of the wind, Callum McDonald, who converted five of the eleven tries, had one conversion when the ball finished behind his kicking position!

Chelmsford again dominated the set scrum with Callum Booth in the front row having a particularly fine game. The first try came about when Basildon were pushed off their own ball and Paul Redford plummeted over. Scott James who is always difficult to put down, then caught the ball at pace and streaked through to score under the posts. The best team try of the game was scored by ‘new boy’ Joe Wood when the ball was the ball was relayed by Scott James and Jamie Ash and Wood showed a clean pair off heels to score from fifty metres. The next try was scored by Ash, following a deft cross field kick by James. Another bull dozing run by James concluded the try scoring for Chelmsford.

Half Time Chelmsford 31 Basildon 0

The second half saw the introduction of Lachlan Wright following the injury to skipper Myles Reagan. He took his opportunity with some rampaging runs and working off the front five forwards went on to score a hat trick of tries. Jamie Ash scored the best individual try of the match when he gathered the ball sixty metres out from a kick and ran through a maze of players to score without a hand being placed on him. Further tries were scored by James and Booth.

Basildon, who had a number of youngsters playing, never gave up and with this attitude will not be relegated.

Kev Blackmore, Director of Rugby said this if the performance "That was arguably the best performance of the season, when you put it in the context of the conditions and that with Harlows HWO over Barking getting 5 points was non-negotiable" "The lads played some fantastic rugby in seriously challenging conditions and they secured the bonus in the first half, playing in to the wind and up the slope. Then 2nd half we turned the screw, we used the wind to good effect and the hunger we played with right till the last second was unbelievable!"

Next week Chelmsford travel to Mavericks Kick off 2.30

Last week the Under 15 Chelmsford Girls team had a narrow win over Dagenham Diamonds. This week a return fixture was played at Dagenham. The score this time was a 34=34 draw in a well fought game that saw both teams play hard hitting and skilful rugby.