Birth Certificates Please!

Just a quick note to keep everyone updated.
The balance of £64 per person needs to be with me no later than Sunday 12th February. It would make life much easy for me if you can pay your balance by cheque, made payable to:

TEAM TOURS DIRECT

We have a total of 118 people touring with 18 under 12 players and 24 under 14’s.
The twelve’s will be playing against Bognor, Chichester, Cranbrook, Bank of England, Llantwit Fardre and 2 more teams from the Bognor area.
The fourteen’s will face Tondu, 2 teams from Harpenden, 2 teams from Dartfordians, Deal Wanderers, Caerleon, Beddau and Bognor.

You can always drop your cheque through my letterbox at 291 Chelmsford Road Shenfield.

Thanks Bryn

All five Brentwood players featured in Essex's 7-5 victory over Suffolk at Colchester on Friday evening.
The scoreline did not reflect Essex's dominance, especially up front with a fine pack performance.
Jack Eagleton capped an excellent display with the Essex try.
Well done Jake, Sam, Joel, Matt, Chris and all the Essex players in another fine display.

The first quarter saw play mainly in the middle of the pitch as both sides struggled to control the ball with turnovers everywhere. Brentwood produced some good mauling but Chelmsford also made some good breaks and right before the end of the quarter a Chelmsford player broke numerous pathetic tackles to score under the posts. The conversion was kicked and it was 7-0 Chelmsford, with a pause as the ball was retrieved from over the fence.…
The second quarter saw a much better start from Brentwood with a strong run and HUGE handoff from Chris McCarthy. The ball was quickly out to the backs and some slick hands put Joel Ison in a inch of space. He used his pace and then stepped the Chelmsford fullback to dash in unopposed from 50 metres. Gregor Deery kicked the conversion and it was 7-7. Soon after Chelmsford were struggling to contain Joel who made another good run and also a nice break off the side of the maul with some good last tackles just stopping him from being clean through on both occasions. Another bulldozing run from Chris McCarthy and quick recycling saw the ball go to Matt Gray on the blindside. He offloaded to the supporting Billy Aldous who sprinted in from just inside the Chelmsford 22 to score, possibly the most spectacular try he has ever scored, not that there is many to chose from! The conversion was missed, 12-7 to Brentwood.
Scoring a try, despite wearing him out, made Billy go up a gear and he took a good restart catch, made a strong run and then offloaded nicely. James Paton went on a charge through the middle of the Chelmsford pitch and got as far as the try line with the Chelmsford players unable to get him down, however the try was held up. From the scrum Brentwood knocked on and Chelmsford made a great break which should have resulted in a try however Sam Fry made a great covering tackle to prevent it.
Half time came and sources tell me that the coach completely lost the plot and couldn't remember who was playing. This resulted in nobody being quite sure how many players we had on the pitch as nobody had enough fingers to count to 15!! At one point there was concern that we only had 13 but eventually we ended up with 15 again.
Chris McCarthy was now playing for Chelmsford and playing a blinder, much to the disgust of his Brentwood team mates, making some good runs, producing a potentially try saving tackle and also taking a clean lineout catch. James Paton made another clean break but the game got extremely scrappy with too many turnovers for either team to get into a rhythm.
Going into the final quarter the game was still there to be won by either team with the difference only being 5 points. It looked like Chelmsford were going to score when one of their players made a clean break but a brilliant sprint back from Joel and a diving tackle made sure he was just hauled down before the try line. Joel then managed to ignite an attack with another break, Jordan Hill continued the move and popped off a lovely pass to Daniel Tomlinson who raced in to score. Adam Mathias kicked a good conversion, 19-7 Brentwood.
Joel then made another clean break and ran in to score under the posts from around 40 metres out, the conversion was missed but the score was now 24-7 and with not long remaining the game was won. Chelmsford however had the final say with a good try and conversion, final score 24-14 to Brentwood.

From the kick off Brentwood were immediately under huge pressure from Rochford who were visibly very up for the game. After a Rochford break which took them deep into the 22 Brentwood conceded a penalty and Rochford opted to kick for the posts. Brentwood were let off the hook as the kick was missed however they then piled the pressure straight back on themselves by allowing Rochford to charge down the 22 drop out. Fortunately Brentwood’s forwards came to the rescue, winning the resulting scrum against the head.
The Rochford pressure still continued though with Roland Johnson putting in a thumping try saving tackle into touch. This seemed to be the catalyst for Brentwood to shift up a gear and not long after Jake Eagleton made a break and passed to Sam Morgan who continued the strong running. When he was eventually tackled the ball was recycled quickly and Jake went in under the posts. Adam Mathias was on target with the conversion, 7-0 Brentwood.
Soon after from a Brentwood scrum the ball was spun out to Adam and then to William Bassenger (who for some reason was lurking on the wing!). He threw a lovely pass to Joel Ison who proceeded to score one of the individual tries of the season, cutting a beautiful line and beating three defenders to score under the posts. Adam converted and it was 14-0.
From the restart Chris Doble caught the ball at pace and somehow made an 80 metre dash down the touchline without a hand being laid on him to score near the corner. Adam’s conversion had the accuracy but not the legs, 19-0 Brentwood.
Right at the end of the half after more good work from Sam Morgan and Jake, Sam Fry made a great run to break two tackles and score in the corner. Adam’s conversion from the same spot again was just short but despite the entire first quarter belonging to Rochford, Brentwood were 24-0 up at half time.
The second half began with play mainly in the middle of the pitch with fierce battling from both teams but some pressure from Brentwood resulted in a well deserved try from Matt Gray. Adam kicked the conversion and it was 31-0 to Brentwood. Chris McCarthy made a strong run and a nice offload to Matt Gray but Brentwood conceded a penalty. The Brentwood pressure continued though as from the penalty Brentwood turned the ball over and from the resulting counter attack Jake scored under the posts. Adam converted, 38-0.
More good pressure from Brentwood and some superb stepping from Joel gave him his second try of the match and with Adam kicking a great conversion it was 45-0. For the last part of the game James Payton was on at centre and it was clear from the first ball he took that he was definitely a crash centre as he went charging straight through the middle. Rochford however scored a well deserved try and it was 45-5 to Brentwood. Soon after a clever kick over from Rochford nearly helped them to their second try but Chris McCarthy raced back magnificently to dive on the loose ball before the Rochford player got to it and saved the try (and Chris threatened me so I had to say that!).
The last try just had to go to one person, James Payton at centre, and it did after on another crash ball he bounced a Rochford defender and ran over to score, although only just after nearly running over the dead ball line! Adam kicked a great conversion and it was 52-5 at full time.
Although the score was large it didn’t really tell the true story of the game with Brentwood just being far more clinical. Brentwood’s coach Ian Dennis echoed these thoughts, being quoted as saying, “They [Brentwood] were rubbish!” On a serious note he said that they “didn’t play their best but this game was testament to how well they can play and everybody did their bit today, despite three from the 22 missing.” Keith Morgan added that this was “a good result” and that “the old faithful didn’t let him down but the players who came on played exceptionally well and are pushing for a first 15 spot.”

Another good start from Brentwood saw them knock on just under the posts early on in the first quarter. From the resulting five metre scrum the South Woodham Ferrers kick for touch was sliced and Brentwood had a lineout on the five metre line however the lineout wasn’t straight and so South Woodham Ferrers regained possession. This didn’t last for long as Chris McCarthy charged down an attempted clearance kick and from the resulting surge torwards the line the ball was held up. This happened twice as great defence from the South Woodham Ferrers team just kept the Brentwood boys out.
The try had to come eventually though. And it did from a great run by captain for the day, Jordan Hill. From just inside his own 22 he ran straight through the the middle of Ferrers defence to run in under the sticks without being touched. Stuart Frith kicked the straight forward conversion, 7-0 Brentwood.
Soon after from a slick back’s loop movement with superb ball handling Jordan was put into space down the right touchline. His pace got him to the try line and he ran round to put the ball under the posts. Stuart duly converted. 14-0 Brentwood and the end of the first quarter.
From the restart Chris McCarthy took a good catch and made a strong run, however Brentwood got penalised three times consecutively for killing the ball in the ruck (us cheating? I don’t think that would happen!) and a lot of pressure from South Woodham Ferrers continued but the boys defended well, Rob Finnerty especially making some good tackles and eventually Brentwood were back on the attack.
James Payton made his usual big run which again resulted in defenders clinging on to him to eventually bring him down, unfortunately the ball went loose but Roland Johnson, ever fearless, was well up on the loose ball but to no avail. No score in the second quarter.
Going into the third quarter the weather was still awful as it was cold and raining and with the pitch rapidly deteriorating into a mud bath (and my notebook getting soaked and the ink running!) the game became difficult to play. Brentwood conceded another penalty but a thumping tackle from Chris McCarthy again ensured South Woodham Ferrers didn’t gain an advantage after running it. Again both good defence and bad weather meant no scores in the quarter.
The last quarter of the match began very messily and it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell who was who under the thick layer of mud the boys were caked in! However South Woodham Ferrers broke the Brentwood defence and scored a try. The conversion was missed, 14-5 Brentwood. The try was then followed up by a penalty from where the restart should be taken. The cause of the penalty? One of the boys having too much to say! From the penalty South Woodham Ferrers ran straight through to score their 2nd try in as many minutes. The conversion was missed 14-10 Brentwood and suddenly it was game on! Brentwood upped the tempo and began attacking the South Wooodham Ferrers line until about 3 metres out the touch judge decided Brentwood were in touch (wonder who that might have been cough BILL cough!). The last twist however was still to come as Chris McCarthy stole the ball from the opposition lineout and crashed over the line to score. It was the first one he’d caught all day! Stuart missed the conversion leaving the score 19-10 to Brentwood at full time and also a bunch of very muddy players in search of a shower (as it turns out they only had to walk half a mile down the road, go round the back of the leisure centre and up a couple of flights of metal stairs to find said showers!)

All five Brentwood Players in the Essex Under 14's squad played for the Essex team in the 17-12 Victory against Bedfordshire on Sunday 8th January.

Well done to Matt Whaley, Chris Doble, Joel Ison, Sam Morgan, Jake Eagleton, and all the other players in this closely contested county match.

Matt, Chris, Joel, Jake & Sam in County colours(click on photo)

Essex Under 14's

After the presentations