CELEBRATIONS PUT ON HOLD !

This was a contest between the two leading sides in the league battling it out for supremacy and was an exciting, tense, nailbiting affair and should have come with a public health warning for those of a nervous disposition.
On a high from the last week’s triumph over Romford the visitors opted to play the first half down the considerable slope with the sun behind them.
They knew that they had to score as many points as possible in this session to act as a buffer for the second half.
Rochford, however,were in determined mood from the start and set about the task with confidence.The forwards were strong and aggressive in both tight and loose play and the backs were fleet of foot forcing back a hesitant Brentwood who had to work very hard to keep their guests at bay. Wing Matt Stewart was very unlucky not to finish off one of these moves early on when he was bundled into touch near the try line.
There was a blow to Rochford’s cause in the opening minutes when their influential No.8 George Chipper left the field with a broken collar bone to bring his outstanding season to a premature close.
This allowed big Ryan Stephenson to step in to the breach which he did in his usual positive and competitive way.
The visitors pressure began to tell on a stretched Brentwood and three penalties from the immaculate Tom Ashton put Rochford 9-0 ahead. Brentwood also had their there chances too with kicks at goal but were unable to take advantage of them.
Towering lineout work from Sam Tape and Ross Murphy at the front of the line supplied an eager Rochford with plenty of ball and in the set scrums all the forwards combined to drive Brentwood back on a number of occasions and make life difficult for them.
Late in the half wing Matt Stewart did get his try after excellent approach work and Ashton slotted over the conversion to bring the score to a well deserved 16 point lead at the break.
There began to be a buzz that there might be a good chance of a victory and perhaps a feeling of celebration from the large number of loyal Rochford supporters but fate has a way of playing tricks on those that believe such things can happen.
Turning round to face the seemingly ever longer slope but with their buffer of a reasonable lead and, more importantly, the momentum with them Rochford started the second half with confidence.
It was to be expected that a team of the quality such as Brentwood that they would react positively but they had to take the game to the visitors. This they did as they moved up gears and next 40 minutes was one of continual Brentwood pressure in terms of territory and ball retention.
They pounded Rochford’s line but the boys are made of stern stuff and have had recent experience of absorbing pressure. Big tackles kept the home side out time and time again and each player once more put their bodies on the line. As the match carried on there was a feeling that Sam Tape’s lads could keep it up and Brentwood would become frustrated and make mistakes.
In fact the opposite happened as Brentwood’s play became even more intense and gradually the dam gave way. They crashed over for a try which was converted, but even then Brentwood still had to score twice more to win and that was a tall order.
Never underestimated a side that has the force with them and so it was. To the delight of the now very vocal Brentwood supporters their team increased their efforts are once again went over for another try which was converted and with the score now standing at 16-14 to Rochford things became very tense.
A feeling of unease flowed through the Rochford crowd as they watched their team looking more tired from the magnificent defensive effort required, especially after the previous week’s physically draining victory.
The inevitable came to pass and right at the end of the game the home team were rewarded for their terrific comeback with another try, converted by their kicker who missed everything in the first half but won them the game by converting each kick in the second.
Very disappointing for Rochford as the game was theirs for the taking but allowed the initiative to be torn from them in the second half and against a side such as Brentwood, particularly on a pitch they play like a well tuned piano, that was fatal.
It all comes down to a final weekend of league rugby on 18 th April at home to Thurrock and at Romford were Brentwood play their final match. It is not going to be easy as Thurrock seem to have hit top form as well.

Team:- Chivers (Ansell) McMahon, Berry, Tape, Murphy, Barker, Baker A, Chipper (Stephenson) Forbes, Needham, Stewart, Stemp, Ashton, Baker J, Webb C. Barnes