With a combination of half-term and Essex training a forward heavy squad of 18 made their way out of the Rochford fog to sunny Colchester for a friendly which would see Sean Honey make his debut.

The front row started with Daniel House at tight-head prop, Chris Martin at hooker and James Mowle at loose-head. Jack Murphy and Harrison McKenna started in the second row, Austen King at openside flanker with James Cowland at blindside and Jack Cahill at number 8. Louis Croll began at scrum-half, Tom Harris at fly-half, Luke Hudson started at inside centre and Henry Willis at outside centre with Daniel Harvey and Callum Blackman on the wings. Corey Lazell lined up as usual at full-back.

Facing up the hill Rochford kicked-off and Colchester came back at them with power and pace. With Colchester knocking the ball on the scrum was reset a number of times due to errors such as the ball going straight through the tunnel and the scrum collapsing. Clearly the boys are beginning to play like the professionals.

Colchester began to exploit the space and eventually began to create overlaps on the wing which allowed them to open the scoring. Rochford pressed again and the pressure began to push Colchester into some handling errors. Whether it was the slope or the ground breaking up the scrums continued to be reset and stifle the flow of the game. Colchester had the best of the half managing a two further tries while Rochford made ground and press hard but found it difficult to find the cutting edge required to get on the score sheet.

In the last play of the half, with Colchester pressing over the halfway line, Austen King stepped in to make another tackle and took a knock to the head. With play stopped to check on his condition it was decided to call half-time and an ambulance.

Half-time – Colchester 17 Rochford 0

After a quick trip back to Colchester Rugby Club the second half began with Daniel Harvey switching to flanker and Alex Purkis taking his place on the wing. Joe Mitchell came on at Hooker and Sean Honey at second row with Harrison McKenna switching to loose-head. With the rousing words of Daniel House ringing in their ears the boys took to the field determined to show Colchester how well they can play.

The second half saw Rochford on the front foot, winning their share of the rucks and recycling the ball well. The aggression from the forwards at the breakdown was particularly effective winning the ball cleanly and allowing Louis Croll to distribute it to the backs. Sean Honey showing on his debut that he’s prepared to get stuck in and work for the ball. A knock to Daniel Harvey’s head while making a try line tackle saw him replaced by James Mowle who slotted in at prop with Daniel House dropping back to flanker.

Rochford went on the attack again and, with the ball secured at a ruck just outside the Colchester twenty-two, went down the blindside with Jack Cahill combining with Alex Purkis to make it to the five metre line before being forced out of play. Their next attack saw the ball worked to the right and 15 metres out sent back left for Jack Murphy and James Mowle driving for the line only for the ball to be ripped two metres short.

Rochford began again to work through the phases and press into the Colchester twenty-two. Daniel House made a burst for the line and was a metre short but with the Rochford team following up they pushed him over the line, under the posts. Unfortunately the referee could not see that the ball had been grounded and was unable to award the try. Instead he blew the final whistle to end an impressive but unrewarded fight-back from Rochford.

Full time – Colchester 41 Rochford 0

This was a tough match against a side with a considerable number of Colchester A team players and many of the Rochford team playing out of position. From the second half performance alone Rochford were unlucky not to get at least a couple of tries.

Austen King was discharged from Hospital with what the Doctors believe is a muscular problem rather than anything more serious. We are all hoping he’ll be fit and playing again soon.

Daniel House was selected as the man of the match for his attacking play, hard work at the breakdown and all round leadership.

1, Daniel House; 2, Chris Martin; 3, James Mowle; 4, Jack Murphy; 5, Harrison McKenna; 6, Austen King; 7, James Cowland; 8, Jack Cahill; 9, Louis Croll; 10, Tom Harris; 11, Callum Blackman; 12, Luke Hudson; 13, Henry Willis; 14, Daniel Harvey; 15, Corey Lazell; 16, Alex Purkis; 17, Sean Honey; 18, Joe Mitchell;

Rochford Hundred Rugby Club

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