ROCHFORD END FIRST HALF OF SEASON ON A HIGH

Rochford secured an important win against a tough and determined Cantabridgian side in a hard and tight encounter which went to the wire.

The victory was a Christmas boost for the team and moves them into 5th place in the league table and everything to look forward to in the New Year.

Although there was no score at all in the first half both sides went at each other and an early massive tackle by centre Gavin Tusini on his opposite number set the scene.

For once Rochford met their match in the set scrums where Cantabridgian were a strong unit, giving the Essex boys pack plenty of problems up front.

Mistakes and handling errors from both sides kept the game even and there were not many chances for points as most of the play centred around midfield with hardly any goal line activity.

The match livened up in the second half though quite early when Cantabs broke clear to score an unconverted try.

Rochford responded with some good attacking play and approach work from the dynamic Tusini who slipped a pass to supporting Greg Whight who broke through to score .

Scott Horsburgh added the extra 2 points to take his side into the lead.

It was then the home side’s turn to respond which they did from a quick, short lineout, catching Rochford wrong footed and a clear run under the posts for another 7 points to put them 12 -7 ahead.

The game went from one end to the other with Rochford beginning to look the slightly fitter and stronger side as they launched a few more attacking moves where Matt Stewart, Gavin Tusini and Michael Stemp used their power and skills to apply pressure on the home outfit.

Another back who was having an excellent game was young wing Louie Marshall where under plenty of pressure from many high, lofted balls was immense with his catching and ball retention.

In the forwards the set scrum began to steady and no.8 Scott Horsburgh and scrum half Ricky Gould combined well to control the ball from the back of the scrum.

The lineout did not appear to function as well this week as usual and ball was bouncing all over the place but when you have the likes of Andy Bevan, Scott Wheeler and Tom Corbet on hand to clear up and drive forward there was always going to be opportunities developing.

The Rochford forwards drove well in the loose play and it was Greg Whight, again, who found the space and drove over the line to score.

Horsburgh converted once more and The boys in black were 14-12 in front but not for long as Cantabs forced play back and were rewarded with a third try to take the lead again at 17-14.

It was that sort of match, very competitive and edgy as one side scored and then the other and going into the last quarter of this absorbing game it could have gone either way.

Rochford had to dig deep and show some of that character which comes through at important times and they did just that to take the play into their opponents half and it was powerful centre Gavin Tusini, capping an excellent game, who forced his way over the line to score under the posts.

It was left to Scott Horsburgh to add the conversion which he did to keep up his terrific kicking performance over the last couple of games.

The extra long second session, which seemed to go on for ever, finally came to its conclusion but not before some heart stopping moments for the visitor’s supporters and the final whistle was eventually blown to the joy of both Rochford players and supporters alike.

A great team performance in the end and a lovely way to go into the New Year to give Coach Michael Guess and his squad plenty to look forward to.

A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to both players and supporters.