In a very tight and nerve racking encounter Rochford went down to a spirited and pacey Stags outfit and in doing so lost their two year plus home record. In spite of the great disappointment in this defeat the team still came away with two vital bonus points, which could be crucial by the end of season and puts them level with Guernsey on 43 points.
The West London side attacked from the start and pinned Rochford in their twenty two metre area for the first ten minutes of the game, before they were able to break away and apply their own pressure. From this the first score came when lively scrum half Ricki Gould forced his way over the try line to open the scoring and Cameron Greenhall added the extra.
The first half was evenly balanced with both sides trying to get the upper hand. Rochford had the edge in the set scrummage and lineouts were keenly contested although this was scrappy at times. In the loose, Rochford seemed to have more power but did not cash in on it at the crucial times. Late in the half CS Stags scored a try of their own and then followed up by slotting over a penalty kick to take them into half time with a 10 – 7 lead.
The home side needed to up their game and get back on the score sheet which they duly did curtesy of a driving maul and a Harry Hudson try. This advantage, however, did not last long as Stags responded with a converted try of their own to take the lead again at 17 – 12.
The Civil Service outfit continued to attack using their fast backs, but a loose ball deep in the Rochford half was quickly picked up by full back Damien Brambley, who then ran the length of the field to score under the posts.
Greenhall duly converted to take his side to a 19 – 17 lead but, once again, Stags hit back with a converted try to retake the lead and gain a try bonus point.
Rochford, with time running out, went up the gears and attacked their opponents line, desperately looking for that fourth try. At last the defence broke and Adam Ferrier stormed over to score and Greenhall converted. Only a few minutes remained and Rochford dug deep to stop the visitors from scoring again, but a penalty was awarded and the Stags kicker took his time to slot the ball between the posts to bring the score line to 27 – 26 in their favour.
With only a couple of minutes left on the clock Rochford forced the opposition back over their own twenty metre line and their pressure was rewarded when the referee blew for a penalty. Rochford opted for the kick at goal but the gods were not looking kindly down on them this afternoon as Cameron Greenhall’s kick drifted wide and shortly after that the referee blew the final whistle.
Very disappointing result but success has to be worked for and nothing can be taken for granted. This league provides a deep learning curve and every game is a battlefield. None more so than next week when the boys will have to pick themselves up and travel to Dorking for yet another extremely stern contest!

Team:- Bailey, Ferrier A, Bevans-Royston, Douglas, Mills, Tunde, Strachan, Hudson, Gould, Greenhall, Cleare, Martin, Billingss, Ferrier W. Brambley

Subs:- Guess, Fombo, Roters