With a few established teams not making the trip to Magnolia Road we were very happy to welcome East London 3s for a game before the Xmas break and what a contest it was.

Despite travelling light, the East London contingent gave as good as they got and fully deserved to get the opening score. They constantly competed at the breakdowns and quite often turned over the Rochford pack in vital areas of the park with some savvy play and sheer determination.

Perhaps a combination of this and rustiness after a few weeks off lead to this being a hard earned but very enjoyable encounter with all of the Rochford team very relieved to see Alan Parker get the winning score 5 minutes from time, especially after at least two efforts squandered so close to the line ( sorry about that guys!)

Many thanks to all that played today, including Jon Berry making his seasons debut, with 2 tries from the Centre. I hope all enjoyed the evenings festivities in Rayleigh and I hope you have a great Christmas. See you all on the 10th of January for the 2nd half of the season!

Many thanks to East London for braving the A13 and the Lakeside traffic. Coming with whatever numbers you had was very much appreciated and we were only too happy to ensure equal sides. Wishing all at Memorial Park a successful and happy 2015