Chelmsford RFC welcomed Eton Manor to Coronation Park for round 8 of the 24/25 Regional 2 Anglia League. Eton Manor were runners up in the league last year so this was set to be a great test of how far the Blueboys have progressed this season.

From the first whistle, Chelmsford once again looked the more threatening team with ball in hand but it still took 15 minutes for the first score. A penalty against Eton Manor for obstruction allowed Jack Lavin to put the ball into the corner. A few phases later, Scott James ran a fantastic line to dissect the Eton Manor defence to go under the posts for the first try of the day. Jamie Morrish slotted the extras to give Chelmsford a 7-0 lead.

Following the try, Eton Manor ramped up the pressure, aided by a near constant stream of penalties against the home side. The Blueboys showed great resilience to absorb the pressure and keep the visitors form scoring and it was Chelmsford who were next to strike with Jack Lavin putting himself in just the right place to intercept the ball on the Manor ’22 and run in for a simple score under the posts. Again, Morrish added the extras to give the Blueboys a 14-0 lead after 22 minutes.

A continuous flow of penalties against the home side saw Eton Manor convert 2 penalties to reduce the lead to just 8 points. Chelmsford were denied two tries by the referees whistle but still looked to be set to take a reasonable lead into the second half. However, an individual run from the Eton Manor 12, very much against the run of play and helped by an uncharacteristic series of missed tackles from the home side, let the visitors in for a surprise try with the last play of the half.

Half Time – Chelmsford 14 – 11 Eton Manor

Eton Manor, now playing downhill were first to strike with 3 points from yet another penalty to even the scores shortly after the restart. Eton Manor looked a different team in the second half and hit again 5 minutes later with a drive from the forwards that the referee determined had been forced over the line to take a 14-21 lead.

With the penalty count increasing, yellow cards followed for both sides but Eton Manor were the first team to benefit with a third try in the corner. The extras were superbly converted by Manor’s 10, who was flawless with the boot all day, for a 14-28 lead.

George Wood scored a consolation try for Chelmsford with 5 mins to go to bring the gap back to 9 points but the final word went to Eton Manor with a try in the dying seconds of the game to take the score to 19-35.

Had the two disallowed tries have stood in the first half, Chelmsford will rightly feel today would have been their day. However Eton Manor are a quality side and they showed that quality in the second half to grind out an impressive win. The Blueboys will take a great deal of positives from the game today and will hope to get back to winning ways as they make the long journey to Wymondham on the 30th November for round 9.

Final Score – Chelmsford 19 – 35 Eton Manor

Match Report by Matt Burley
Photos kindly shared by Brian Purdy