Match Report by John Spivey

Rochford 5 Westcliff 5
With Westcliff’s reputation for aggressive play and a large pool of players to choose from, Rochford got off to a nervous start. Westcliff immediately began moving ball around and our defence looked stretched. Sure enough, Westcliff found a way through and it looked like the start of a bad day at the office. However, with a Rochford side improving over the season, the boys dug in and didn’t allow Westcliff to bully them. The Rochford break finally came after Westcliff conceded a penalty near their try line. Jake passed out to Stefan, who broke the Westcliff defence and heart by crashing over the try line for a score.
Into the second half and Rochford were now in control of the game. Matthew Fitz-Patrick almost scored from an interception after Angus put a big tackle into a Westcliff player. Michael and Tom were making a fine combination in the back, repeatedly running into the Westcliff half. The final whistle ended the game in a draw. It was a shame the game was only 6 minutes each half as Rochford domination should have given them the match.

Rochford 5 Southend 5
If you thought Southend were going to be an easier option than Westcliff, think again! Southend really took the game to an attacking Rochford. Our lads almost scored on a number of occasions but were stopped by a robust Southend defence. Tom Finch was proving to be a hard target to bring down making good ground for Rochford. Finally, Tom Child got a break scoring our only try after Southend spilled the ball on their try line.
The second half and Southend scored from the off by running through a non existent Rochford defence. This lapse in concentration cost Rochford dearly as Southend began to play with more confidence. It was Rochford that now found themselves on the back foot. However, a good performance from Lewis this
week, who helped Rochford stay in the game and clinch another draw by moving forward, ripping ball and tackling aggressively.

Rochford 25 Westcliff B 0
The last game of the day saw Rochford score at will against an inexperienced Westcliff B team. From the start Stefan snatched the ball out of the Westcliff hands and passed out to Owen who almost got over. Mathijs was quick in picking up loose ball and running forward. By now, Rochford sensed this was not going to be much of a challenge and set about running through the Westcliff defence. The down side, particularly from our more experienced players, was nobody wanted to pass the ball. Players kept ball in hand, tracking sideways or backwards just to keep possession and score. This tactic would have been suicide against a more capable side.
Luckily, Rochford got away with it, this time! After two hard matches, where playing as a team was paramount, the win could have been that much sweeter with some better team play!
Try scorers; Matthew Fitz-Patrick and Michael 2 each, Matt Dobson 1.