After good pre-season training and friendly matches against Southend, Chelmsford and Upminster it should have been all systems go for the start of the league campaign.

Unfortunately, things did not go to plan with the loss of ex captain Sam Tape, second row Scott Wheeler and scrum half Ricki Gould which disrupted the team for the first few games.

Rochford were extremely pleased in picking up two quality ex Southend players in Mark Billings and Nik Grier but they took time to settle in and coach Michael Guess was unable due to unavailability’s and injuries to players to select a settled team each week.

Losing the first four games in a row was a setback before getting off the mark with a win against Holt at home.

Three more wins and four loses before the Christmas break realistically put paid to any chances of league success.

Rochford knew that they were not a bad side and did play some very good exciting rugby but they were not consistent enough and gave away too many points as well as making basic errors at crucial times in some matches.

The second half of the season began to see all the hard work and commitment that was put in by coaches and players alike starting to pay off.

After a sickening loss, away to Ipswich by one point the side then won three matches of the trot, playing some attractive rugby in the process.

The team began to gel much better and only a couple of off days away against Romford and Gidea Park and Old Cooperians marred their progress.

The final league match against champions Diss was a terrific encounter and the rugby on show by both sides was of the highest quality. Only Diss’s superior finishing power and support play on the day marked the difference between the teams.

What this game did show was how far Rochford had evolved since the early part of the season and on their day, they are a match for any team in this league.

Finishing eighth in the table I did not feel was a true reflection on the way this Rochford side played but it was so very tight between a number of teams and only five points separated 5th to 8th position at the end.

The final match of this topsy turvy season saw Rochford become deserving Essex Cup champions after beating Romford and Gidea park 36 – 29 in a terrific final at Bancroft RFC. They played some lovely rugby and more than made up for previous under par performances against Romford earlier this season.

There were many fine individual performances by the players during this year’s campaign. Greg Whight’s towering leaps in the lineout all through the campaign together with his all round displays were a big success for him and Nik Grier’s strength and experience proved vital in many games as he adapted to the players round him and slotting in at hooker and back row.

Max Bacon in the second row always made his presence felt in the tight as well as the loose before injuring himself in the later part of the season.

Matthew Bevan was also immense in set play and loose and his nine tries were proof of that.

Tom Corbet once again put his body on the line and gave the opposition plenty to think about with his forceful attacks.

Scrum half position was filled mostly by Rochford stalwart Jack Doherty and he played his part with guts and determination and a lot of credit should go to him for what he achieved this season.

In the final few matches wing Tom Pickering stepped into that position and played with credit.

In the backs, Steven Jay used all of his knowledge and experience to expand our game and was a big asset.

Captain Matthew Stewart was the highest points scorer with 180 out of a total of 607 and he did a difficult task with enthusiasm and commitment and led by example.

We picked up the services of Daniel Dieu-De-Bellefontaine from Basildon and his power and strength gradually paid dividends in the centre spot.

One of the bonuses of the season was to see a revitalised Sam Edwards storming through defences and taking on all opposition. He seemed to have found a new lease of life in his late rugby career.

Full back Mark Billings is a class act and finished the season very strongly after taking time to settle in and getting to know his new rugby comrades but he just went from strength to strength each week and is an inspiration to those around him. His last few games were of top class and a joy to watch and it was only fitting that he was the team’s highest try scorer with 15.

It is also worth noting that he and prop Ricky Wiseman were the only players to play in all 23 matches.

Michael Guess used 43 players in total in the squad but 20 of those played in 10 or more games which reflected how the team settled as the season progressed.

Sorry I have not mentioned many others but they all played their part and are really appreciated for their contribution.

Once again thanks to the club and all our supporters, home and away that were there to spur the team on to better things.

It was not always an easy task and frustrating at times but they were rewarded with some exciting stuff as well.

Thanks to Adam Faherty for all his hard work on match days and behind the scenes throughout the season, and to the ever-youthful John Branch for patching the boys up so they could take even more punishment and to keep tired limbs working.

Kevin Anderson did a sterling job of running (although I use the word lightly) the line for us as well as all the other little extras that are sometimes taken for granted apart from his work as fixture secretary.

Lastly thanks to all the commitment and hard work that our coach Michael Guess has put in on and off the field. It has been a difficult season for Michael but we are now in a much better place than we were and a lot of credit goes to him for that.

A new season to come with more challenges but it is already looking promising and however it turns out it should be interesting and, hopefully, successful.

Graham Pratt ( Manager )