Rochford Secure in Second Place

In what turned out to be an entertaining game on a dull and dreary November afternoon Rochford Harts managed to keep pace with league leaders Westcliff and see off a resilient Colchester side. Colchester 2nd XV who have undergone some difficulties this season were re-grouping well and looking forward to taking on a Rochford side that has been showing some excellent performances as of late.

The game started at a frantic pace with Rochford applying the pressure on the home side with a number of good runs deep into the Colchester half combining the backs pace with the power of the Rochford pack. Eventually the pressure told and full back Laurie Cooke managed to break the Colchester defensive line and dart over out wide for the opening score Rochford 5 – 0 Colchester. However the home side were not about to be outplayed and hit back immediately when their centre was able to evade a number of soft tackles and went over the line to open the Colchester account which was converted to give the Ravens the lead Rochford 5 – 7 Colchester.

The rest of the first half was played out in much the same fashion with each side trying to get the upper hand and some fine rugby was on display, during this period Rochford were unlucky not to regain the lead when Cooke again crossed the line but play was pulled back when Captain Chipper was judged to have just crossed the side line before setting free the pass that sent Cooke on his way. Eventually the pressure started to tell on Colchester and the Harts did regain the lead when flyhalf Ashton linked well with Dolman, who split the Colchester backline and eventually fed the ball back on the inside to winger Levy who sprinted clear of the cover defence and dot down under the posts which led to an easy conversion for Chipper. Half Time Rochford 12 – 7 Colchester.

The second half was a much different affair and was dominated by the lads from Magnolia Road. The Harts began to hit top gear and play the way they have done over last few weeks and this turned out to be too much for Colchester. Pickering was the next to score just a few minutes after the restart after sustained pressure on the Colchester line created some gaps in the defence that Pickering exploited and Chipper added the extras, Rochford 19 – 7 Colchester. Searles then added to the points tally, taking the ball out wide he managed to shrub off a couple of tackles and then out pace the Colchester wing to once again score under the posts making the conversion simple enough for the impressive Chipper, Rochford 26 – 7 Colchester.

Not to be outdone by back row partner Searles, number 8 Scott Goodliffe then managed to create a try from nothing after fly hacking the ball through the Colchester defensive line Goodliffe was able to out pace the opposition full back and made use of the enormous dead ball area to add to his try account for the season once again converted by Chipper, Rochford 33 - 7 Colchester. This was quickly followed up by Pickerings 2nd try of the game, after some superb strong running rugby by the Harts backline, Ridgeway managed to break the line only to be thwarted by the Colchester full back but still managed to off load to Pickering who was never gonna be stopped from 10 yards out and at full pace, converted by Chipper 40-7.

Colchester then turned the match on its head, and come back into the game with some impressive rugby, pressure eventually told and Rochford succumbed to another score to reduce to arrears to Rochford 40 – 12 Colchester. All though the game was beyond them the Ravens were not going down without a fight and further looked to add to their score and were outplaying Rochford for the last 5 minutes of the game, however the last pass of the match saw Rochford wing Levy intercept the ball on his own 10 yard line and then out sprinted the length of the field out pacing the cover defence for another well deserved try which left Chipper another conversion in front of the posts to have the last word, final score Rochford 47 – 12 Colchester.

Next weekend sees Rochford Harts return to Essex Cup action, they will be looking to go one better than last season when they were losing finalists to Barking, however the draw hasn’t been kind and they take on Westcliff at home in the first round which would have probably made a more entertaining final. However buoyed by some recent impressive displays and at near full strength this is going to be a real cracking game, please come down and support the lads, they guarantee entertainment.