ROCHFORD OVERCOME CONDITIONS FOR BONUS POINT WIN

( report by Graham Pratt )

It was another week of adverse weather with a very strong, gusty wind, but no rain thankfully and a pitch that had dried out enough to play running rugby. Unfortunately there was not too much of that, as conditions dictated how the game would be played with a blowing crosswind that made life difficult for both teams!

Guildford, in spite of their lowly position showed that they were no pushovers and challenged their more successful opponents all match. In fact, they went ahead with a well earned try early on to go 7 points up, in spite of Rochford having wind advantage in the first half. This was followed up with a kickable penalty attempt but, fortunately for Rochford, the ball swerved wide.

After a sluggish start the boys in black regrouped and applied good forward pressure, using the wind stand off Cameron Greenhall sent a long kick into the Guildford twenty two metre area. From the resulting line out Rochford drove over the line for powerful hooker Adam Ferrier to ground.

For much of the first half the set scrum was pretty even but with a few tactical changes the home side gradually found dominance in this area, although the line-outs were a bit of a mess all afternoon. Sam Fombo and Jamie Douglas did some good work there but the wind played havoc on occasions and put pressure on both scrum halves having to deal with loose and tapped ball.

Although Rochford are a good running outfit with plenty of skill outside, with players such as Chris Dudman, Sonny Gay ,Danny Cleare and Damien Brambley, their main strength is the forward power base that has been the foundation of many wins in the past... Rochford have such good ball carriers in the forwards like Craig Strachan, James Kellard, Mac Duaibe, Tod Bailey, Jamie Douglas and others to rely on when the going gets tough. The next try came from impressive prop Lewis Brunger as he used this powerbase to score the next try and Greenhall duly obliged with the extra two points to give his side a 12 – 7 advantage.

Having said that it was not a day for good open play; Rochford’s next try was a beauty when a fast, flowing backs move saw wing Damien Brambley speed through to score a terrific try. In fact, Brambley had an outstanding game in attack as well as in defence all afternoon where he put in some big tackles to keep Guilford at bay.

Rochford turned round 17 – 7 to the good at the break but knew they had to increase the tempo especially playing into the wind. For the following twenty minutes they did exactly that scoring two more tries from Mark Billings and Chris Dudman ,duly converted by Cameron Greenhall, to put themselves into a commanding 31 – 7 lead. The Surrey side did not give up the fight and pushed Rochford all the way, denying the Essex Lads any more points and in the final few minutes managed to bag a late try of their own to reduce the deficit.

A well earned five point win for the home side which was pleasing, but rivals Guernsey increased the points difference gap with another big win. Rochford next week face CS Stags at Chiswick who are the only side to have beaten them at home in the past three seasons. That was a result that was hard to take and they will be determined to make amends for that blow to their pride.

Each game now, as the season starts to draw to a conclusion, becomes massive and bonus point wins for each game has to be the target.

Team:- Bailey,Ferrier A., Bevans-Royston, Douglas, Shields, Kellard, Strachan, Duaibe, Gould, Greenhall, Cleare, Dudman, Gay, Brambley, Billings

Subs:- Brunger,Fombo,Meads