Up for the Cup

The boys arrived on a bright Sunday morning to see a Chelmsford team already changed and running through their pre-match routine, so we knew we would be in for a contest.

The kick-off was slightly delayed as plastic remnants from the recent firework night were found on the pitch, so after a quick sweep by parents from both sides, Rochford kicked off and were soon under pressure from Chelmsford. However, the team stood firm with strong tackles taking place across the pitch and from this base Rochford gradually started to build pressure of their own. Carrying on the success of our passing game from last week Rochford moved the ball well across the pitch, culminating with a fine move which resulted in the ball ending up with Jack on the wing, who sped past the Chelmsford defence to score in the corner to lead 5-0.

Chelmsford came back strongly, but Rochford repelled them and actually managed to extend their lead to 10-0 with Max powering through the heart of the Chelmsford defence. Chelmsford then made a great interception and seemed certain to halve the deficit until Ben intervened with a fantastic tackle at full back. However, the opposition were not to be denied for long and after a period of pressure inside the Rochford 22, were able to score in the corner and then soon after doubled their try tally to level the scores at 10-10.

Strong tackles were being made by all the team to prevent Chelmsford from scoring further; Rochford were making powerful runs through Christian, Luca and Max, which were being thwarted so we seemed destined to go into the break level, until Luke P made a great interception and managed to hold off the chasing defenders to score in front of the posts. Therefore slightly against the run of play Rochford had a 15-10 lead at half-time.

Due to this, we decided to start the second period with an unchanged line-up in order to keep the momentum going. Chelmsford kicked off to start the second half and the ball was collected cleanly by Kieran midway in the Rochford half and he weaved his way through the opposition to extend the lead to 20-10.

The momentum was now firmly with Rochford, with the front line of Luke C, Connor, George, Sam, Luca and Max preventing Chelmsford from leaving their own half which resulted in them often resorting to kicking to clear the lines, but this provided a brief respite as Rochford collected the kicks and immediately probed the defensive line.

Rochford further extended their lead with an impressive drive up the pitch, before Connor, in what was to be his last contribution in the match, powered over the line. The substitutes of Alex, Scott, Oakley, Kai and Freddie entered the arena, replacing Jack, Harri, Barnaby, Connor and Ben who had all made sterling contributions; the exchange was seamless with Freddie and Kai in particular, making some good runs for the corners, but were held up at the last.

Rochford then scored what was to be their final try of the day with Luke making a typical rumbustious run through the Chelmsford line to make the score 30-10. The lead could have been extended further in what was a carbon copy of Kieran’s earlier try, whereby he caught a clearance kick and ran through but was tripped as he crossed the line and unfortunately spilled the ball before he could touch it down.

Another great game of Rugby, played in a fantastic spirit and excellently refereed by Tom who kept up with play at all times and clearly communicated the decision he made.

Both teams tucked into the traditional Sausage and Chips, before nominating their opposition Man of the Match, Rochford nominating the Chelmsford number 1 and Chelmsford nominating number 30, Kieran.

Next game in the Cup will be a tough game against Brentwood, on the 13th January.

Tries
Jack, Max, Luke P (2), Connor and Kieran