Chelmsford played their old rivals East London in a hard fought and bruising encounter, in a game where the result could have gone either way. Playing up the slope and against the wind in the first half, the Chelmsford forwards put on an excellent display of hard running and grinding out territory after many passages of play. The East London side got off to a flying start when, after a period of sustained pressure, their centre burst through for a unconverted try. From then on Chelmsford played much of the game in their opponent’s half and went close on several occasions, twice hitting the corner flag, when going in for tries. East London used their kicking game sensibly and used the slope and wind to gain considerable ground, often from deep in their half. The Chelmsford set scrum and lineout were very good and kept them on top of the opposition for much of the game. Certainly, when the half time whistle blew it seemed Chelmsford created all the pressure without the points
With the elements, it seemed that Chelmsford would take the game but, after ten minutes, a speculative kick by the East London flyhalf was poorly handled by the Chelmsford backs and they gave East London a simple try. Chelmsford then galvanised themselves and started to deliver on their early promise, first seeing Mike Dawson – who has delivered game after game this season - crash over and then fleet footed Lloyd Ellis evaded several tackles to go in for a try, which was well converted by Harry Moseley, to make the score 12 -10 to Chelmsford with ten minutes to go.
The East London team, unconcerned by Chelmsford’s narrow lead, showed tremendous spirit and came back hard, with their forwards gaining more ground than at any stage of the game through ruck after ruck. Chelmsford did not use the conditions well, on many occasions they could have cleared their lines through kicking but failed to do so. With seconds to go, East London gained a penalty when Chelmsford held onto a ball in the ruck, this was well kicked and the whistle was blown as East London secured the win by a single point. Both sides should take credit for an exacting and hard fought match. They meet again next week in the League! This will be another game which will be too close to call.