MUDBATH THRILLER !

This was a far different affair from the earlier match at Magnolia Road where the North East London side had won 48-5.

It was not a pretty affair as conditions did not allow free flowing rugby but it was one of those games that players had to dig deep into themselves to find extra reserves to keep out a determined opposition on a pitch that forced errors from both teams.

The fancied home side came out strongly in the first half and applied pressure straight away but Rochford’s defence held firm and big tackles went in, forcing Chingford into handling errors at crucial times.

What was pleasing ,and to some extent surprising,was that with both regular prop forwards unavailable through injury the set scrum not only held up firm but was able to apply pressure to the bigger Chingford outfit.

This was, perhaps, due to an outstanding display of scrummaging by veteran substitute prop Kenton Avis, ably assisted by Tom Corbet and big Gavin Dyer who were the anchor of the pack in an afternoon of many scrums and breakdowns.

Gradually Rochford soaked up all that Chingford threw at them and started to give as good as they got.

In another typical display of rugged and powerful back row play flankers Darren Spencer and Craig North together with No.8 George Chipper time and again cleared up and created chances from nothing and tackled as if their lives depended on it.

The best chance of the half fell to Spencer as he crashed through a number of bodies to dash for the line,only to be stopped yards short and, although able to off load the pass was adjudged to be forward. It would have been a try under the posts and Rochford would have led at the break.The set scrum continued to stand fast even when flanker North had to go to prop when Gavin Dyer was yellow carded just before half time but as it turned out it was the home side that scored during this period when they were awarded a penalty late in the half and which was duly slotted over to give them a slight lead at the break.

The second half was really a case of the boys in black (and that as the game progressed did not only refer to their shirts) defended a continuous onslaught of Chingford attacks.

A combination of magnificent defence where every player did his bit and opposition errors under pressure and a little luck kept Chingford at bay.

Lineouts were a battle zone as slippery ball created problems for both set of forwards and ball was turned over on a number of occasions in the loose.

Rochford’s backs were as efficient as ever with Dan Needham, Tom Ashton and Dan Allen combining well and wings Greg, Stubbs and Lee Wiseman putting in big defensive performances as well as running with deternation on the few times they had the chance.

Matt Stewart at full back was having a good match also until he had to retire due to a knock and substitute Sean Conneely slotted in as if he had played there all season.

The game entered the final minutes and it was still 3 – 0 to the home side but gradually Rochford found that extra little something from their reserves and counterattacked. They nearly scored on a couple of occasions and if luck had been kinder and the pitch better they probably would have.

Finally a chance presented itself when the visitors were awarded a penalty and Tom Ashton made sure he did not miss. 3–3 with only a few minutes left and Rochford threw everything at Chingford to secure an unlikely victory.

In the end it was not to be as the final whistle blew but picking up a well deserved point away at one of the better sides in this league was no mean feat in itself, but the great thing about this developing team is that they felt slightly disappointed with the result and that is a very good sign particularly with some other tough fixtures to come.

A big display of character and grit in atrocious conditions.Well done all of you.

Team : Avis,Corbet, Dyer, Murphy, Needham J, North, Spencer, Chipper, Webb, Needham D, Wiseman, Ashton, Allen, Stubbs, Stewart. Subs: Ellis, Robinson, Conneely.

CHINGFORD RFC Match Report

Chingford welcomed Rochford to Waltham Way last Saturday, a team that Chingford had beaten convincingly earlier in the season. Once again it was a changed XV for the home side, and it is that consistency in the starting line-up that is causing the team not to click. After the heavy rain during the week it was never going to be the prettiest of games in the mud, but it was poor hands and aimless kicks that kept the visitors in the game. Chingford during the first half had chances, but poor decisions out wide meant the ball was often spilt in the tackle and the opportunity was sunk in the mud. After a shakey start the home side’s lineout started to work with the Aussie combination of Luke Rawle, who’s throwing in the week previous was 100%, finding his fellow compatriot Micheal Lee, this gave Chingford a platform to work from, but for all the hard work Chingford’s hands let them down. With 20 minutes on the clock Ben Bolton-Smith opened the scoring with a penalty, and that’s how the score remained at the break. For all the hard work and industrious running of Chingford’s back-row of Hoad, Burnage and Canny, the home side could not breach the determined Rochford defence, and once again the final pass was dropped and the chance went. This was the story of the game, and it was until 25 minutes into second period that the visitors entered the Chingford 22. With only 9 minutes left on the clock Chingford infringed and a penalty was awarded that Rochford slotted to tie the game. With a nervous few minutes remaining Rochford did have a chance to steal the game, but once again the hard tackling of Ryan Pask and Steve Hollis kept the visitors at bay. “Individually a lot of the players didn’t have a bad game, with Canny & Pask always looking dangerous with ball in hand, but as a team performance it was poor. Credit to the strong defence of Rochford who could have nicked it at the end, a definite turn around from when we faced them earlier in the season, but Chingford should win games like this,” said a disappointed head coach Stefan Smith.