Fourth XV (Acorns)

Match Reports 2009/10

Latest games first:

Sat April 10th:

       

            

Sat Mar 13th: (scroll down for photos)

Pegasus                     10       

Thurrock 4ths            20

Thurrock 4ths played the only game for Thurrock on a big international weekend, picking up a Pegs/Palmerians 2nd / 1st team away.  There was plenty of availability for Thurrock for once!

The game started well for Pegs and their back division nearly scored on several occasions, but were kept out by a stout  Thurrock  defence. From a defensive line out in Thurrock's 22, Reece Cunningham at fly half, one of two sets of fathers and sons playing for the 4ths today, was able to break out, where he kicked ahead several times and when the Pegs’ full back fumbled, the ball popped up straight into his hands and he scored near the posts. The try went unconverted. Thurrock then soaked up plenty of pressure and kicked sensibly, notably by young Tom Worsfold, playing his first game for Thurrock 4ths at scrum half. However, Pegs’ very useful backs finally broke through and they also scored near the posts and gained the conversion. Pegs turned round 7 - 5 at the break.

Thurrock then changed a number of players, (introducing amongst others Joss Nunn for his first senior game of rugby at open side), to allow all a game and things started to go well, as their forwards started to take control. However, with a rare entry into the Thurrock 22, Pegs were awarded a penalty which they converted to lead 10 - 5. The Thurrock pack then upped the tempo and were gaining quality, quick ball at will, which eventually allowed Matt Whyman to round his man in a sweeping move to score a great individual try. Converted by Tom Worsfold. Thurrock then led 10 - 12. The Thurrock pressure began to tell and Pegs gave away several penalties, one of which was converted by Tom Worsfold. It was now 10 - 15. With the introduction of Spooner Bridger, debutante Steffan North, and Brian Hunter to the front row results were immediate, with the very first ball being taken against the head, for scrum half Tom Worsfold to break blind and then to pop up to No 8 Lee Herrington, who crashed over for the try, which was unconverted. There was still plenty of life in Pegs and it was only a last gasp tackle by debutante centre Dan Kemp, that stopped Pegs scoring again.

This was a good, competitive game, between two well matched sides, to set up the afternoon viewing of Scotland v England .

Man of the Match was Tom Worsfold, who controlled the forwards well, passed accurately and kicked out of hand to good effect.

Next weekend, Thurrock 2nds, 3rds and 4ths are all playing in the BL League semi finals at a number of venues. Good luck to all 3 teams as, if they all win, the finals are all at Thurrock on April 10^th.

   

        Dan Kemp                                        Tackle

And two "teaching" photos of Tom and Miles:

   

That's the way to do it!

Sat Mar 6th: (scroll down for photos)

Old Brentwoods 2nds 17

Thurrock 4ths              18

On Saturday, Thurrock 4ths played their last League game away to a team well above them in the League and were desperately looking for a win after recent very close losses. They arrived only to find that Old Brentwood 2nd team had no front row and so had to play uncontested scrums from the start, which was a big blow for Thurrock ’s powerful pack.

Thurrock started well, with Danny Kearney kicking very well out of hand at fly half, repeatedly pinning Old Brentwoods back in their own half. It was from a line out and a huge forward drive of some 35 metres, that veteran back row Steve Fox finally opened the scoring. Thurrock then had most of the play, but conceded a converted try when Old Bs broke through in the backs and scored under the posts. Old Bs then broke through again, as their fast, organised backs took control and scored  a converted try. However, the Thurrock forwards immediately hit back and took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored a wonderful flowing try straight from the KO. Steve Fox caught the ball from the KO and with excellent interplay amongst the forwards, drove up the pitch for second row Tony Millsom to score. Excellent defending by wings Blaine Daly and Spike Adams kept Thurrock in the game and Thurrock turned round 14 - 10 down at half time with all to play for.

Thurrock then introduced several pairs of fresh legs to the game, bringing on Jack Galley at back row, Phil Brookes at prop and debutante Oliver Harrison on the wing. Thurrock kept pressurising the Old Bs line, but failed to score tries. However, from one infringement, centre Matt Whyman put over a penalty, giving Old Bs a slight lead at 14 - 13. Unfortunately, Thurrock themselves transgressed at a maul and were penalised, giving Old Bs an easy penalty, leaving the score at 17 - 13. Thurrock now began an all out assault on the Old Bs’ line, but looking like they would lose out yet again to a team much higher in the League.

From a Thurrock penalty in the Old Bs’ 22, the referee told all it was the last play, but Thurrock had time for the resulting 5 metre line out. Thurrock were obviously going to try to drive over from here if there was time. From this line out, Old Bs transgressed by pulling the maul down and another penalty was awarded. Quick thinking debutante scrum half Ben Gray took the quick tap penalty from 5 yards out and, with the Old Bs’ pack still retreating, scored a most deserved individual try, dragging 4 Old Bs’ players over with him. The try went unconverted, giving Thurrock the narrowest, but most deserved of wins 17 - 18.

Man of the match was back row Frank Monk, who was the main line out jumper of the day, who turned 50 the day before, (Friday) and who also won many turn over balls in the rucks and mauls.

 

 

Frank Monk - Man of the Match

Sat Feb 27th: (scroll down for photos)

Thurrock 4^th                 14

East London 2nd          17

Last Saturday Thurrock were playing top of the League, champions elect, East London 2nds. Indeed, a win would give them the League title, so Thurrock were certainly up against it. It did not help that several key Thurrock players had to cry off the day before and on the match day morning.

Thurrock won the toss and skipper Dave Graham elected to play up the small slope and against the wind. For the first 25 minutes the game was even, with Thurrock coming closer to scoring than East London . Thurrock ’s powerful forwards were winning the battle and scrum half debutante, kiwi Lincoln Rawles, marshaled them well. So it was totally against the run of play when East London scored what seemed an easy try down Thurrock ’s left wing virtually unopposed. This again stirred Thurrock’s game and only several errors in handling stopped Thurrock from scoring. However, Thurrock's over commitment at a ruck and previous tackles leaving several players on the floor, left too much room outside and this led to East London capitalising on this to score wide out. Thurrock turned round 0 – 12 down, but with all to play for.

The second half saw many individuals take the ball into close contact and Thurrock’s momentum began to build in earnest, though East London always looked dangerous when their young backs had the ball. From a central scrum, newly returned Tony Wilkins burst through the centre to score under the posts. Wilkins has scored in all 3 games he has played in this season, after returning from a bad injury. This was converted by Whyman. Unfortunately, and against the play, East London broke out of their own 22 and went down their left flank, interpassing between their good back division, to score wide out. Thurrock again took up the gauntlet and their forwards started to pick up the pace. Line outs were dominated by Liam Walsh and Frank Monk and it was from one line out catch and drive that back row Phil Brookes, freshly returned from a 6 month cruise holiday, managed to crash over from close in. Whyman again converted, to leave the score 14 -17, with 5 minutes to go. Thurrock battered East London, but unfortunately for Thurrock , their defence held out and this was the final score. This also secured the win they needed to earn them the League Championship.

Man of the match was Liam Walsh, who nearly led the forwards to glory.

In the past 3 weeks, Thurrock 4^th team have played the top 3 teams in the league and have been beaten by no more than a handful of points. This has been quite a baptism of fire for some of the youngsters who have started their senior rugby with the 4^th team and is also testament to the fighting spirit that still abounds within the team. With one League game to go against Old Brentwoods next week, win or loose, Thurrock should progress to the BL League plate semi-finals.

        

Captain Dave Graham getting ready to lead a forward surge     Man of the match Liam Walsh flying high

        

   

Sat Feb 20th:

THURROCK 4^th        7

SOUTHEND 4^th         15

This week saw Thurrock 4ths entertain Southend 4ths at home. Southend are 3^rd in the League and are seeking one of the two promotion slots available, so a very tough game was expected.

Thurrock 4ths made all the early running, with desperate try saving tackles coming in all over the place from Southend. Unfortunately Thurrock could not break the Southend defence, despite the likes of Tony Millsom making big ground in the loose. The scrum and the line out were working well and the defence was also holding. Every time Thurrock got the ball the crowd was expecting them to score, but it wasn’t to be. The last kick of the half saw Southend gain and kick a penalty under the posts to lead 0 – 3 at half time.

Thurrock turned round raring to go and pushed Southend all the way, but without scoring. This is a quite problem of late, having a majority of possession but be unable to put it to the best use.  From a wayward line kick, the Southend wing took the ball at full tilt and powered his way through the Thurrock defence to score virtually untouched under the posts. Southend then put further pressure on Thurrock and managed to score wide out. This spurred Thurrock forwards to even greater efforts which led young Matt Whyman, at centre, again scored a superb solo try under the posts, converted by Danny Holding. However, Thurrock had run out of time and ended up loosing 7 – 15.

Man of the match was Steve Vickers

So in the last two weeks Thurrock had played and lost to the second and third in the League, both pushing for promotion and had run both teams so very close. Next week, Thurrock entertain East London , who are currently top of the League, in a rearranged fixture.

Sat Feb 13th:

UPMINSTER 3^rd       29

THURROCK 4^th        27

Conditions were muddy, and very exposed on the top on Upminster’s sloping pitch. Thurrock won the toss and elected to play uphill and against the wind. Today’s game was the first outing for a couple of players in senior rugby. Indeed Thurrock had three 17 year olds on the pitch in the second half.

After the usual brief exchanges, Thurrock finally scored through an intercept by newcomer Matt Whyman and consequent follow up interplay allowing veteran Frank Monk to score by the posts. Upminster hit back very quickly with a converted try and then extended their lead further by scoring 2 further tries. Thurrock turned round 17 – 5 at half time with it all to play for in the second half.

Thurrock came out guns blazing and scored three unanswered tries. The pick being a solo effort from young Matt Whyman, in his first senior game, who broke tackle after tackle to go in under the posts. Unfortunately Thurrock then lost their way a bit and allowed Upminster a sniff of a comeback – which they took to the full. Upminster then scored and had this try converted. Another score would see them draw level and a conversion to win. And that is exactly what they did, as Thurrock allowed their lively scrum half to score under the posts with the conversion a formality. Thurrock lost 29 – 27 in a great game of entertaining, free flowing rugby against a team riding high and seeking promotion in the League. Young Jack Galley, in his first senior game, gave a fine performance.

Man of the match was 17 year old Matt Whyman.

Sat Feb 6th 2010 (scroll down for photos)

Rochford 4ths            5

Thurrock 4ths          17

Thurrock 4ths played this re-arranged fixture in brilliant, even warm sunshine. Unfortunately, the pitch was atrocious, with standing water still trapped on the surface. However, Thurrock took full advantage of the good weather and put on a very good display indeed.

Thurrock elected to play 'uphill' and against the little wind there was. Some fine attacking rugby led to Thurrock making several big inroads into the Rochford 4ths defence, especially by Paul Barton at outside half and Micky Gola Jnr at centre. Some fine interplay by forwards and backs eventually led to debutante back row John Cambridge forcing his way to the line, only to fall just short, but able to release the ball to veteran back row Steve Fox, who went over wide out. Much good line out ball was cleanly won by Lionel Hayward at second row. Thurrock turned around 0 - 5 up at half time.

The second half saw Rochford mount their best attack of the game. The Thurrock defence failed for once, allowing the wing to score wide out. Thurrock then dominated the remainder of the game. A solid scrum, with debutantes to the 4ths, Mike Crawford and Flipper at second row, led to the ball being sent down the back the line and back again, for Micky Gola Jnr to score from a powerful run, dragging several defenders over with him. To add the icing on a very good performance centre Tony Wilkins then scored a solo try, running in to score from some 40 metres out, weaving in, around and through the Rochford defence, under the posts, with Micky Simmonds adding the conversion. Thurrock ran out worthy winners 5 - 17.

Man of the match was Terry Keenan at tight head, who is anchoring the scrum well and also adding forward momentum with his big runs forward.

       

            Paul Barton                                    Danny Kearney                            Lionel Hayward

Sat Jan 30th 2010

After a long lay off and despite losing their last League game, Thurrock 4th team finally won their first game of 2010 against a spirited Stanford 2nd team by 7 - 21.

With no fixture for Saturday, Thurrock 4th team managed to arrange a friendly fixture with Stanford 2nd team at Stanford, a team again with a fair number of Vets in their side, including many that had played for Thurrock in the past. Stanford dominated the first 20 minutes and only good defending kept them from scoring. However, a long clearance kick by Simmonds was followed up quickly by Dave Graham, who caught the Stanford full back in possession, who was then robbed and then the ball was sent down the line from Kearney to Adams to wing Blaine Daly, who duly went over the line to score, with Simmons converting. Just before half time, with Thurrock generally in control, the defence allowed Stanford to mount an attack, which resulted in their centre going through and scoring unopposed under the posts, which was converted.

The second half saw Thurrock introduce a number of subs which strengthened Thurrock all round. Centre Reece Cunningham saw and went for an interception and duly took his chance and ran in under the posts, which he converted himself. With the Thurrock pack now rampant and well in control and driving forward at every opportunity, it was scrum half Danny Kearney who put the final result under no doubt by finishing a lovely move, where backs and forwards passed the ball between each other, scoring under the posts and converting his own try. Thurrock ran out very worthy winners 7 - 21.

Sat Jan 23rd 2010

Thurrock 4ths    5

Maldon 2nds    31

This week Thurrock 4ths entertained Maldon 2nd team. Thurrock had the edge by far in the scrum and the line, but just could not score. The final passes went down and the wrong options taken. Against any 2nd team you have to take your chances when you can. Unfortunately Thurrock did not do that, despite enjoying some 70% of the possession. This led to 2 breakaway tries in the first half by Maldon. The 4th team batttled on, but still the errors were apparent and again Maldon scored 2 tries courtesy of their young, fast backs. Thurrock got the final score of the game when back row Steve Fox, making a welcome return and his first appearance of the season, scored from a line out, making the final score 5 - 31. The age range of the 4th team, while primarily a Vets team, ranges from 60 - 17 years of age. Man of the match was young Jack Callow on the wing, closely followed by club stalwart and 60 year old Pat Gard in the back row.  Pat is now possibly the oldest man still playing regular rugby in the club.

       

    "Oldie" Pat Gard....................Jack Callow            Here's Pat in action in Nov 2009

Sat Dec 5th

Upper Clapton 2nds     64 

Thurrock 4ths                   7

Sat Nov 28th

Thurrock 4^th 15

Wanstead      17

In clear, yet very blustery conditions, Thurrock 4ths elected to start against the wind, with the theory of enjoying it in the second half. Unfortunately Wanstead 2nds were unable to field a front row and so scrums were uncontested from the start. Both teams started well, but it was Wanstead, with their pacey young backs, who scored first. Missed tackles led to the breakthrough, with the winger scoring wide out. Centre Kev Polley then had to leave the field due to a pulled hamstring and Chris James took over. It was a similar story of missed tackles some 10 minutes later when Wanstead scored again. Both tries went unconverted. Thurrock began making considerable inroads into the Wanstead half, led by Tony Millsom at No 8. It was then that Thurrock struck back. Jack Hatton broke wide down the blind side of a maul some 30 metres out, fed to Danny Kearney, who rode several tackles before releasing captain Dave Graham to score. Thurrock then struck again. From a line out some 35 metres out, the Thurrock pack drove over the visitors’ line, with Jack Hatton claiming the score. This was a great forward effort all round. Both conversions were missed. Thurrock turned around 10 all at half time, a fair reflection of the game.

The second half was much the same, with Thurrock playing behind a decreasing wind. Play flowed to and fro for long periods of time, with neither team gaining the advantage. Full back Micky Simmonds was having the game of his life, fielding everything Wanstead threw at him, the day before his 50th birthday. However, missed tackles eventually allowed the opposition centre to score, but this time it was under the posts and it was duly converted. This proved vital in the long run. Thurrock ’s powerful forwards then took some control and, after a steal by Liam Walsh from a line out in the opposition’s 22, fly half Luke Cotter smashed his way over the line for an individual score. Unfortunately the score was not converted, thus Thurrock again lost a well contested game, the final score running out at 15 - 17. Thurrock did feel aggrieved that the opposition turned up without a front row as their big powerful pack in the scrum could have made all the difference.

Sat Nov 14th

Southend          24

Thurrock 4ths      7

This was definitely a 'game of two halves' as they say. Thurrock 4th team lost the first half 24 - 0, but won the second half, but only 0 - 7.

It was always going to be a hard fixture, away against high flying Southend, doubly so with the extreme weather conditions. Thurrock again started poorly and were 12 - 0 down within 10 minutes. Scrum half Spike Adams then had to leave the field due to injury and replaced by eventual Thurrock 'Man of the Match' Paul Callow.  Paul, returning from injury, started on the wing, having played centre and back row for the 4ths this season. This alone demonstrates the injury problems for the 4th team this year.  Southend never let Thurrock settle and their powerful and very swift back division took the game to Thurrock at every opportunity. Thurrock , facing the wind, managed to keep further scores down to 2 more tries before half time, due to several last gasp tackles, especially from centre Cunningham Jnr.

Thurrock turned around to play with the elements and soon put Southend under considerable pressure.  In fact, Southend were under this pressure for the whole half, with fly half Luke Cotter and centre Cunningham Jnr kicking very effectively indeed, constantly pinning Southend back in their own 22.  It was from a line out catch and drive, with several penalties resulting for Thurrock , that centre Cunningham Jnr finally drove over the line under the posts with Cotter making the conversion. Thurrock kept Southend under the cosh for the remainder of the game, which led to many desperate measures by Southend, which led to their captain being sin-binned for the 10 minutes remaining of the game. However, Thurrock were not able to make their superior numbers count and finally went down 24 points to seven.

Sat Nov 7th

Thurrock 4^th         5

Upminster           19

Despite loosing 5 - 19, in a fiercely competitive league fixture, there were more positives than negatives to take from the game.

Thurrock fielded a full team with few playing out of position and welcomed a number of new players to the squad, with Andy Robinson, Barry Page, Micky Gola Jnr and Blaine Daly making their debut for the 4th team, and Jesse Johal making his first start for many a year. We also welcomed back Thurrock stalwart Pat Gard, who will be literally collecting his bus pass next January?!

Upminster started by far the better and, following a speculative kick ahead and with the ball hacked through from a miss field, Upminster scored virtually under the posts - and duly converted to go 0 - 7 up. This galvanised Thurrock into several periods of attacking play, but the wrong option was chosen, the ball went down or was turned over at the last minute.

Against the run of play, Upminster managed a breakaway try to score out wide, which again was converted. Thurrock now trailed 0 - 14 at half time.

Thurrock then made several substitutions some 10 minutes into play and the Thurrock forwards then took some control. This resulted in Andy Coleman being driven over following a line out catch and drive. The conversion failed. Thurrock forwards again dominated and were constantly pushing forward but were denied several scores by Upminster's excellent defence - and a bit of good luck. Upminster then gained another breakaway try to put the result beyond Thurrock , though to their credit they battled to the very end.

Thurrock are away in the League to Southend next week.

Sat Oct 24th:

Thurrock 4ths   14  

Rochford            5

Thurrock got back into winning ways this week against a strong Rochford side.  Again the side was depleted due to injury and unavailability, but did very well, considering a few players playing out of position and one player making his debut after several years out of rugby altogether!

Thurrock won the toss and elected to play up the slope and against the wind. Thurrock had to defend well all half against a very determined Rochford side, with Paul Barton making several incisive breaks into the opposition half, but Thurrock turned round 0 - 0 at half time.

If Thurrock thought they would have it all their own way in the second half, down hill and with the wind, they were very much mistaken.  Rochford produced numerous attacks down their right wing and nearly scored on several occasions.  However, the Thurrock defence stood the test. With play generally in Thurrock 's favour, centre Paul Barton finally broke the Rochford defence, going through unopposed under the posts. Full back Micky Simmonds duly converted.

Rochford then produced their best attacks of the half, which finally resulted in a well taken try. However, they failed to convert it against the wind.   Thurrock again rallied and, after a beautiful chip through from fly half Spike Adams into space, wing Jim Hall managed to squeeze over the line in a very well deserved try.  Micky Simmonds again converted to seal the game and the league points for Thurrock 14 - 5.

 

Paul Barton, try scorer

Sat. Oct 17th:

East London ll    52

Thurrock 4ths      3

Thurrock went away to East London 2nd team, who were last year’s League winners. On this performance they will be this year’s league winners as well. Thurrock went down fighting 52 - 3. A closer game than the score reflects.

Thurrock, again with a somewhat depleted team due to unavailability and injury, were blown away in the first half, all scored by East London 's exceptional set of backs. Paul Callow and Dean Holding tackled well in the centre, but speed of thought and deed virtually put the game out of reach in the first half. Again Luke Cotter kicked out of hand very well and pinned East London back, but they just ran it straight back at Thurrock and scored 5 tries before Thurrock gained a penalty.

Cotter had to leave the field early in the second half.  Despite this huge setback,  Thurrock rallied and attacked well the remainder of the game. Thurrock conceded just 2 tries in this half, which was an exception performance all round. Indeed, it was some exceptionally valiant tackling by the East London pack that denied Thurrock tries on at least 3 occasions.

It was a credit to the team that after being soundly beaten they kept on battling until the very end. Spectators who arrived later in the second half were surprised that Thurrock were to be the loosing team - and by some margin.

Sat. Oct 10th:

Ilford Wanderers 3rds  24

Thurrock 4ths                  10

Thurrock IV team went away to Ilford Wanderers with a bit of a depleted team. This meant that they were under their normal strength and many players had to play out of position. It is a credit to all players that they were prepared to do this in a League game. Also, their 3 subs totalled over 150 years in age!

Thurrock were soon 10 points down to a very spirited Ilford 3rd team.  However, Thurrock did hit back late in the first half with a debut try from No 8 Lee Turp reducing the deficit. Thurrock started the second half very well, despite several key players having to leave the field injured at half time. Thurrock were now creating far more chances as their forwards started to dominate. A forward drive from a line out and a quick break from that, led to Simon 'Spike' Adams scoring in the corner. This made the score 10 all and things were looking good for Thurrock . Ilford, seeing this turn in proceedings, responded by substituting 2 of their back row and a prop - and this turned the game in Ilford’s favour. Their extremely hard running and very big back row replacements made many forays into the Thurrock half which allowed Ilford to score 2 very good unanswered tries. Thurrock kept on battling to the very end, epitomised by centre Chris James taking out the biggest and fastest player, one of Ilford's foreign back row subs, on the wing, to deny him a try in the final seconds. Thurrock finally went down fighting 24 - 10.

Thurrock will need to carry this excellent effort and attitude into next week, as they are away to last seasons League winners, East London 2nds, though they did beat them (just) in the last season's League cup final.

Up to Sat Sept 26th:

Thurrock 4th team has continued its excellent start to the season. In a prelim warm up game they drew with a very committed Southend 4th team 14 all.

The next fixture was a home game against last seasons loosing cup semi finalists Old Brentwoods second team, which saw Thurrock come out 40 - 7 winners. This was an outstanding result, as Old Brentwoods finished higher in the League than Thurrock 4th team last season.

Next was one of the 4th team’s best displays for several seasons, where they beat a Wanstead second team by 0 - 59. It was a fine display by the whole team, with their blend of forward power play linking wonderfully with the free running backs. Lee Herrington managed to bag 3 tries from open side to cap a fine game from him. Thurrock 4ths will play many such second teams in the newly structured and expanded League.

Last Saturday saw their hardest test by far against  a young and game Upper Clapton second team who had come to beat the home team. Thurrock never lost the lead from an early push over try from Captain Dave Graham at number eight, but at times Clapton came within one point of taking the lead. The Thurrock forwards then dominated the game with their power play and forced a 5 metre line out, which saw hooker Jack Hatton driven over for a fine try.  However, Upper Clapton hit back with two nicely taken penalties of their own for Thurrock ’s indiscretions. The half did not go all Thurrock ’s way and there were several last gasp tackles to stop certain tries, notably by scrum half Danny Kearney and full back Nathan Brown.

In the second half Thurrock produced their best backs move of the game, which saw Eric Crooks go over in the corner. Thurrock ’s last try was a virtuoso display by fly half Luke Cotter, who managed to side step his way through Clapton's entire pack and score under the posts.  With Thurrock’s aging pack tiring, Clapton did come back into the game with 2 tries of their own, via their free running backs, but time was called before there were any further set backs. Thurrock certainly earned their 31 - 23 win in very hot and hard conditions. This win sees Thurrock 4ths top of the League table, with 3 wins from 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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