A GREAT START TO THE NEW YEAR !

In spite of their long lay off due to the bad weather Rochford looked sharp and determined in the backs and the forwards fought hard to supply enough ball although, once again, under pressure from a bigger and more experienced Stevenage pack.

The home side were put under the cosh early on and had to dig deep to keep the confident looking Stevenage outfit at bay who used their big pack to steam-roll Rochford back in the tight.

The defence held firm and once Rochford were able to win some ball of their own they soon showed a turn of pace and skill which troubled the visitors.

From one such piece of fast play the home side went ahead when full back Matt Stewart burst through to score a very good try.

This advantage was short lived as the Hertfordshire side responded quickly with a try of their own to level the scores. Stevenage continued to use their big, strong forwards and racking kicks to keep Rochford on the back foot for most of the first half but gradually the skill and fitness levels of the Magnolia Road boys began to show dividends.

Although hard pressed in the set scrum and the lineout not working well Rochford still managed to turn over ball and fight ferociously in the loose where James Needham, Craig North, Josh Berry and particularly Ross Murphy were outstanding.

In fact it was second row Murphy who sparked Rochford’s new found confidence when he stormed over to finish off a terrific piece of ball play through the backs to turn up on the wing to touch down. Tom Ashton converted the try and Rochford finished the half 12 - 5 ahead.

As the second half progressed it became apparent that Stevenage were beginning to tire as the long lay off took it’s toll on them and Rochford’s hard work on the training pitch and in the gym began to show.

Another fine, sweeping back line move saw last minute replacement wing Lee Wiseman prove his selection by speeding over to score in the corner to increase Rochford’s hold on the match.

Everything seemed to be going the Essex boys way but Stevenage had other ideas to show they were not beaten as they launched further attacks on the Rochford line. Their efforts were rewarded when their talented scrum half outpaced the home side’s defence to dart over for a try. To rub salt into Rochford’s wound he did so again shortly after to score another well taken effort and suddenly the score read 17 – 15 to the home team.

With fifteen minutes still to play the game became rather tense and a bit of ”Argy Bargy“ ...(as Bill McClaren would have described), took place as frustration crept into play, ending in a red card for a Rochford sub after a melee on the touchline.

It, perhaps, spurred Rochford into action and in the final minutes it was Ross Murphy who wrapped up the match by scoring his second important try to seal an excellent result against good opposition and if truth be told they could have won by far more points if they had been able to finish some fine moves off better when they had the chance.

Having said that both coaches and players were only too happy to take this win as a big confidence booster and use it to move forward against Brentwood next week and progress up the table out of danger zone.

Team: Berry, Chivers, Corbet, Ellis, Murphy, Baker A, North, Needham J, Webb, Needham D, Wiseman, Ashton, Hall, Stubbs, Stewart, Subs. Dyer, Spencer, Chipper G.

STEVENAGE MATCH REPORT !

With the outcome of the Disciplinary Hearing following the abandonment of the game against Harpenden effectively depriving Stevenage of a possible 8 league points, it is important that they pick up as many points as possible from the teams around and below them in the league to ensure their survival at this level for another season. This therefore was a major set back for Town.

This was the first outing for both sides since 12 December and Town made a lively start to the game as they dominated for the first 10 minutes with surging runs from both Adam Amos and Phil Pearson. Unfortunately for Stevenage, Rochford took the lead from their first attack in the 11th minute and although they put some phases of good play together, Town never looked like winning this game as they were guilty of poor kicking, poor decision making and naivety at crucial times. It didn’t help that Town conceded 12 points, whilst down to 14 men as two players spent time in the sin bin.

To lay blame for the defeat purely in the deficiencies of Stevenage, would be an injustice to Rochford, who played some excellent rugby, which belied their lowly league position.

Rochford opened the scoring with a well worked try from their full back, which split the Town defence allowing him to run in unopposed. Town should have levelled the scores almost immediately but failed to score a pushover try inches from the line with the Rochford pack on the retreat.

The visitors did eventually level the scores in the 28th minute with a fine try by Pearson, who linked with Tavita Faamausili from a line out move and then picked up and scored from the ensuing ruck.

Two minutes later, Gareth Roberts was sent to the sin bin for retaliation and whilst Stevenage continued to work hard, it was mainly in their own half of the pitch.

There was a bizarre incident in the 35th minute, which to Stevenage supporters was reminiscent of the Harpenden fiasco, when a Rochford replacement, who was still on the bench, became involved in a touch line fracas and was given a straight red card by the referee. Sadly for Town this did not reduce Rochford to 14 players, as he was not part of the on-field team.

The home side made their numerical advantage count just before the interval with a second try from their lock forward. Town were in possession in the Rochford half, but lost the ball and Rochford swept up field to score and give the hosts a half time lead of 12 – 5.

It went from bad to worse almost immediately from the restart as Rochford increased their advantage. Again it came from Stevenage possession that broke down in mid field and although the Rochford move involved a blatant knock forward, missed by the referee, the Rochford left wing finished off in style.

The home side always looked dangerous in possession, with strong running and good support play, but Stevenage crawled their way back into the game with two tries by Ian Crompton in as many minutes. The first came from quick thinking after a number of successful rolling mauls by the Town pack. Crompton picked up and scored, whilst players on both sides seemed to have stopped playing for some reason. The second came directly from the kick of and involved Amos, Pearson and Ed Burrell, before Crompton ran in from half way.

Having fought back to 17 – 15 and being in the ascendency for the first time since the 10th minute, Barry Cook was sent to the sin bin for foul play reducing Town to 14 men for the second time in the match.

With 2 minutes to go, the Rochford lock scored his second try to seal victory and a well earned two league points.