Rochford U7s vs. Westcliff, Braintree Festival 18 April 2010

Westcliff drew first blood with a strong run from one of their wingers down the left hand side followed by a try. Not the start we were looking for but Dalton quickly evened the score after a good pass from Ethan. Strong defensive work from Rochford with some excellent tags from Dalton gained us the turnover ball and this was followed by some of the best support play we have seen for weeks with each team member playing their part. The sustained pressure saw the ball being passed up and down the line until finally Ben placed it over the line to put us 2-1 up. Further excellent support play from the whole team resulted in more tries for Dalton and Ben and we finished the half the stronger side at 4-2 up. Coach Fintan was pleased with the excellent support play but made the point about moving forward early to get tags before the opposition could gain much territory.

The second half saw Edward come on as substitute and he continued the good work his team mates had been doing in the first half with some great support play. Finlay was unlucky with a disallowed try but Rochford were up for this as they defended with heart to stop Westcliff responding with some critical tags from Dalton and Ethan. A shirt pulling incident saw Rochford regain possession and another period of passing up and down the line paid off as finally Zach fed Dalton who put the ball over for another try. Great stuff! Even though Rochford were playing magnificently with further tries for Dalton, Westcliff managed to pull back level at 7-7. With the clock ticking down this closely fought battle could go either way but in the dying seconds a sustained period of Rochford pressure was rewarded as Edward scored a solid try to win it just in the nick of time.

This was a very enjoyable match to watch for all concerned in the Rochford camp. Not only because the team put in their best ever performance, but because every single player contributed in a big way.