The warriors travelled to Rochford, yet another team we have played many times and have always been a good challenge. Although there had been a fair amount of rain over the week the pitches were in pretty good condition and to start with the rain held off.
So the first of four quarters kicked off and it was Burnham starting fast once again putting pressure on Rochford and keeping them camped in their half. A theme throughout the game was Rochford's intensity around the ruck area and not letting Burnham have an easy ride of the breakdown, however Burnhams overall gameplay was dominating the quarter with some amazing team tries being scored. Harrison was dancing around the breakdown causing all sorts of problems for Rochford and with Toby utilising the firepower in our backline it was clear to see Burnham were the stronger of the two sides and whenever Rochford did show signs of attacking intent they were snuffled out by a tackling masterclass on show by Sebastian, Alfie and Bear.
Changes were made for the next quarter and Rochford came out fighting and took full advantage of some lapsed tackling from the Warriors to score some tries of their own, you would of thought heads may have dropped but up stepped Shane to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, his pace on show for all to see was unstoppable at times and he levelled things up with a couple of well worked tries, one was a classic turning defence into attacked with Rochford pounding the try line the warriors dug in deep, turned the ball over and shipped it wide to Shane who darted the length of the pith to score.
The next two quarters mirrored the first two with both teams being kept honest and having to work hard at the breakdown but were playing some fantastic rugby with ball in hand, working the ball wide when able to but also charging up the middle and looking for the off load to a supporting player, Cass, Rhino & Thomas all making good ground when called upon.
There was some really good rugby on show today (from both sides) and I am pleased that some who were lacking some confidence stepped up and showed their true potential, Shane who has already been mentioned was pipped to the player of the match by Harry who showed exactly what he can do on a rugby pitch when he puts his mind to it, rucking, tackling and finishing off some beautiful team tries with his pace on the wing.
As always plenty to work on at training, the difference is noticeable for those that are training regularly so we must keep attending to keep raising our standards.
Tries this week were scored by Harry, Harrison, Toby, Alfie, Shane, Jude, Toby.
This week we host our good friends Basildon
See you pitch side