Impressive Rochford Bounce Back !

It was clear from the start that the home side had a determination and purpose about their play as they took the game to Braintree from the off.
A Tom Ashton penalty gave them an early lead which was quickly followed up by second row Ryan Stephenson charging down and diving over following up a misplaced Braintree clearance kick near their try line and Rochford were ahead 8 – 0.
The visitor’s strengths were in their big ,strong forwards and general aggressive play and Rochford had to work hard, especially in the set scrum and lineout, to keep them at bay.
Having said that the Rochford eight supplied good lineout and loose ball with a number of turnovers which forced their opponents into defending for long periods. The boys in black pinned Braintree down in their twenty metre area on a number of occasions and from one of these hooker Brian McMahon powered over for his first try of the season and Ashton duly converted.
The game seemed to be slipping away from the North Essex outfit at 15-0 to Rochford but some determined play forced the home side to concede territory and found themselves defending on their line. Braintree took full advantage and a lapse in an otherwise stout Rochford defence saw powerful Braintree No.8 Paul Dunn crash through to score a try. Charles Monk converted the try and at 15-7 it was “Game on“
The score remained the same until the break and a penalty early in the second half by Monk narrowed the gap even further.
This was when Rochford’s extra determination and fitness came in as they took the game to Braintree with fast flowing rugby and powerful drives from the forwards, where each player played his part none more so than the trio of Baker, Barker and Chipper in the back row.
Eventually pressure told and wing Greg Stubbs found the room to speed over for a fine try which Ashton converted.Centre Darren Spencer who had played so well had to retire with an injury and flanker Andy Baker filled the position. This allowed Matt Norris to come on and give more power to the pack. Simon Webb also came on with a fresh pair of legs for the ever industrious James Forbes at scrum half who had been at the heart of play all game.
It was good timing as Braintree began to feel that the game had run away from them and with stand off Dan Needham running various angles in his usual style and Ashton floating long balls all over the park the visitors had to defend desperately.
The final nail in the coffin came right at the end of this hard fought encounter when Andy Baker broke away to run three quarters of the pitch and as he was caught pass to Tom Ashton in support who run in for the try under the posts and also kick over the conversion.
Well done lads and a great response to last week’s loss but there is still work to be done in the three difficult remaining league games if we want that deserved promotion.

Team: Chivers, McMahon, Berry (Ansell), Tape, Stephenson (Norris), Barker, Baker, Chipper, Forbes (Webb), Needham, Stewart, Spencer, Ashton, Stubbs, Barnes.

BRAINTREE RUFC MATCH REPORT:
Braintree suffer second defeat
Report by Barrie Winwood

BRAINTREE slumped to sixth place after suffering their second successive defeat against runaway league leaders Rochford on Saturday, but the scoreline flattered their hosts. It was always going to be difficult against a side whose unbeaten home record has all but ensured their promotion to the next tier. But the black and ambers will rue the fact that it was errors they made themselves which proved to be their undoing rather than scintillating play by the league leaders.

The game was only three minutes old when Tree drifted offside during an early Rochford attack and outside centre Tom Ashton kicked his side into a 3-0 lead. Eight minutes later Rochford extended their advantage when Tree winger Nick Ashford's attempted clearance kick from his own try line was charged down by second row Ryan Stevenson who crashed over to make it 8-0. The black and ambers were forced to live off scraps of possession and spent much of the middle period of the first half defending desperately. But their fortifications were finally breached again on 34 minutes when Rochford set up a driving maul from a line-out inside Tree's 22 and front row Brian McMahon scored from close range. Ashton converted the kick to put his side 15-0 in front but the visitors reduced the arrears in first half stoppage time. Tree took the ball through several phases following a scrum, moving the ball first left and then back into midfield before number eight Paul Dunn barged over the line. Fly-half Charles Monk did the honours with the boot and his side went in at half-time on the wrong end of a slightly more respectable 15-7 scoreline.

After the break Tree started the brighter and reduced the arrears still further on 42 minutes when Monk kicked a penalty awarded when a Rochford player was caught off his feet at a ruck to narrow the gap to five points. The pattern of the game was gradually changing but as the visitors pressed forward in search of points they found themselves exposed at the back and the league leaders took ruthless advantage of the gaps. The screw was twisted on 56 minutes when winger Greg Stubbs joined the line to take a pop pass before crossing the line to allow Ashton to kick his side 22-10 in front. Tree continued to give as good as they got but lost momentum after Dunn was yellow-carded, although it was harsh on them when Ashton scored and then converted his own try deep into stoppage time.

BRUFC chairman of selectors Jeff Lewis said: "We soaked up a lot of punishment and managed to get within five points of them early in the second half. "It was fairly even after that but they scored a good try to get their noses in front again and we were left chasing the game. That being said the last score put a slightly unfair gloss on the result for Rochford."

Tree are in Essex Cup semi-final action on Saturday when Rochford travel to Robbs Wood for the second clash between the sides in the space of a week.

BRUFC: Dawson (Crush 56), Page, Green, Willis, N Ashford, Monk, Martindale, D Coote (Sewell 11), Baker, Prince, Apps (McClements 60), Fitzearle, Payne, Bentley, Dunn.