It was not the finale to their season that Rochford were hoping for as they surrendered their Essex Cup title to Campion in an uninspiring, and error strewn struggle in front of a large crowd at Barking RFC ground.
Hardly a good advert for Essex rugby on the day and Rochford, once again knew they did not perform to the best of their ability.
The first half was a dire affair with both defences dominating and which Campion had the territorial advantage .Rochford defend well and turned over a great deal of Campion’s ball but were not able to capitalise on it.
Their scrummage was shaky, the lineout and driving maul were none functional and Campion made Rochford pay for it by slotting over 3 penalty kicks to put them ahead 9 – 0 at the break.
If Rochford thought that they could take advantage of the stiff breeze in the second half they were disappointed as Campion kept up the pressure throughout the half.
An Adam Ashton penalty late in the match gave his team some hope but when a back pass from an attacking move deep in Rochford territory was intercepted by a Campion player who ran through to score the game was virtually over.
A late surge by the boys in black just could not break down the stubborn Campion defence and the game drifted to it’s final conclusion.
Not their finest hour but the team can now look forward to a summer break but they will should reflect back on an under achieved season and give serious thought to their ambitions and aims under a new coaching regime next season.