Herts and Minds

This was the first time that any Rochford team had made the trip to Welwyn RFC and we can recommend the trip for the warm welcome and cracking rugby.

With our seven Essex boys at county training and three, Daniel Harvey (chest infection), Harrison McKenna (Knee) and Henry Willis (collar bone), on the injury list we were low on numbers but had the bonus of James Cowland making his debut in a Rochford shirt.

The forwards began with James Mowle at loose head, Joe Mitchell at hooker and Jack Stickings at tight head, Jack Murphy and Chris Martin in the second row, Austin King, making his first appearance of the season and Reiss Sellwood at flanker and Corey Lazell at number 8. In the backs Rob Sheldrake started at scrum half, Ethan Hepton at fly half, Louis Croll and Joseph Cottam at centre, with Connor Jones and Callum Stanley on the wings and Liam Baker at full back.

Welwyn were a big side and from the kick off it was clear that Rochford would need to get the tackling spot on to stop the opposition attacks. Their number 8 was particularly effective and he made the most of some missed tackles to put the Rochford defence under pressure. Eventually the pressure told and Welwyn opened the scoring with a strong run through the Rochford defence.

Rochford strung together some good moves, getting ball wide and stretching the Welwyn defence but just could not make that break through. In the meantime Welwyn were making regular breaks and ran in a further three tries, converting one.

It was a typical Jack Stickings barnstorming run that got Rochford on the score sheet. Breaking tackles and wrong footing defenders to touch down in the corner maintaining his record of scoring in every match this season. Rob Sheldrake stepped up to take the most difficult kick possible and got the direction just right but the ball fell a few feet short. No doubt next year those will go sailing over the bar.

Half-time - Welwyn 22 Rochford 5

The second half began with a reshuffle with James Cowland coming on for Ethan Hepton and Jacob Wright for Connor Jones. Callum Stanley moved to scrum half with Rob Sheldrake to fly half and James and Jacob taking the empty slots on the wings.

It was clear very early in the second half that Rochford had decided to step up a gear and the boys began to put pressure on the Welwyn defence. Instead of waiting for one of the more vocal boys to step up and rally the team they took that on themselves. A long pass from Corey Lazell was caught at speed by Jacob Wright inside his 10 metre line. He handed off a Welwyn defender and outpaced the rest of the opposition to score his second try of the season under the posts. Callum Stanley slotted over the conversion.

Another move by Rochford the ball make its way to Corey Lazell inside the Welwyn ten metre line and using a combination of speed and strength beat the defence to the posts to present Callum Stanley with a kick in front of the posts which he took successfully. With six minutes left an injury to Austen King saw Ethan Hepton return to the action at blindside flanker.

With two minutes to go a Rochford scrum on the Welwyn five metre line saw Corey Lazell pick and go on the blindside but the referee had already blown for the scrum turning. The reset collapsed and saw James Mowle hurt and back on came Connor Jones. Chris Martin switched to loose-head and Connor replaced him in the second row. The referee decided to make the reset scrum uncontested and a quick thinking Corey Lazell picked up and went inside this time and made it over the line to score his second of the game. Callum Stanley scored the conversion.

Full time – Welwyn 39 Rochford 26

This was a great performance from the boys which saw them really step up and take the initiative giving Welwyn a run for their money, especially in the second half.

Corey Lazell was selected as Man of the Match for his leadership, his direct running, hard work all over the pitch and two well taken tries.

Tries
Jack Stickings
Jacob Wright
Corey Lazell (2)

Conversions
Callum Stanley (3)

1, James Mowle; 2, Joe Mitchell; 3, Jack Stickings; 4, Chris Martin; 5,Jack Murphy; 6, Reiss Sellwood; 7, Austin King; 8; Corey Lazell; 9, Rob Sheldrake; 10, Louis Croll ; 11, Ethan Hepton; 12, Joseph Cottam; 13, Connor Jones ; 14, Callum Stanley; 15, Liam Baker; 16, Jacob Wright; 17, James Cowland;