Thurrock get reeled in. Shock as Hadden kicks four penalties!

Thurrock 28 CS Rugby 1863 38

Nick Alway reports

The Stags gave Thurrock a seventeen point start on Saturday but were still in the end able to reel their opponents in reasonably comfortably.

It was not looking nearly so rosy after twenty-five minutes had been played. CS had started brightly and had spent a good bit of the first ten minutes in Thurrock’s 22 but it was the home side who were first to score a converted try and the deficit then doubled when the Ts benefited from a ball that squirted out of a wheeling CS scrummage not far from the Ts’ own 22. This was gleefully gathered by their 8 with little initially to oppose him in front of him,so he was able to make good ground before finding support and it was at that point that the tackling of those Stags desperately covering back rather let them down so Thurrock were celebrating again. When the gap was stretched to 17-0 by a simple penalty there were certainly some long faces amongst the visiting support .

Fortunately that was the cue for some more sustained CS possession and pressure which was this time turned into points. Blind-side James Porter scored a try after some concerted forward drives and Scott Hadden kicked the conversion and a penalty. But it was Thurrock who were able to increase their lead just before the interval with another penalty to make the score 20-10.

The CS alickadoos had been entertained to a fine buffet before the game by their Thurrock counterparts and from the exchange of season’s reminiscences it had become clear that Thurrock had been involved in a few games this season where they had played well only to have victory snatched from them right at the death. Certainly 20-10 was a pretty fair reflection of the play thus far and if Thurrock carried on in the same vein victory would surely be theirs ( I did overhear a half-time comment to the effect that all that they needed was two more tries and that did indeed appear to be a pretty reasonable summation of the position ) but 20-10 is of course by no means a match-winning lead if your opponents find another gear and fortunately for the Stags and unfortunately for Thurrock that is exactly what happened.

The Stags got back to parity with another try – his fourteenth of the season - from the swift-footed James Houstoun on the wing, the conversion of this try, and another penalty from fly-half Scott Hadden. The half-back link, hardly silky again in the first half , was now operating smoothly , the forwards were playing with power and far greater precision and the backs were looking comfortable and also showing a rather more patient approach. Nonetheless Thurrock were able to regain the lead again when their hooker was the man with the ball after a drive from a five metre line-out.

CS were prepared to be patient as already mentioned and dominated territorially after that with Scott Hadden controlling affairs. Points duly came in the form of two more well-struck penalties from his boot to give the Stags the slenderest of leads for the first time at 25-26. The most important score then followed after a period of prolonged pressure, much of which was played out with stricken hooker James Buncle on the deck and in some pain ( it looks as if it is medial ligament damage and he may well be out for a while) and with Portuguese exchange referee, Paulo Duarte, playing good advantage, Tony Dawes was finally able to find the gap and, with the conversion, the Stags now had a precious eight point lead, 33-25. Thurrock though were then able to remove that cushion with another penalty of their own and the outcome of the game was still in the balance.

The bonus point was, however, gathered in not long afterwards and the coup de grace effectively delivered, courtesy of more good work by the forwards sealed by loose-head Sam Glasson. It is worth mentioning that Gino Corradi - who after James Buncle’s unfortunate injury had reverted to his more usual position of hooker - had made a very reasonable fist of the tighthead job - albeit against some of the more diminutive props, but no mean scrummagers for all that, on the circuit. He had served his apprenticeship against Guernsey away of course.

Thurrock finished strongly and were unlucky at the death not to score a try – the referee adjudging that the ball had been held up. This would have brought them two bonus points which no one could possibly have begrudged them on the totality of the balance of the play on another thoroughly entertaining afternoon. Mr Duarte from Portugal had contributed mightily to that entertainment too by his sound management of the game and I only hope that his assessor was as impressed as I was.

So CS recorded a third successive win in President Mike Lee’s absence on cruise and now take on Old Elthamians on Saturday with him once again back behind the helm . Ko is 1500.

CS scorers :

Tries:

Porter
Houstoun
Dawes
Glasson

Conversions;

Hadden (3)