Kings Squad: Aidan Ryce, Tommy Fegan, Charlie Farrell, Will Kinsella, Charlie Allen, Calum Heather, Robert Dotchin, Tom Palmer, Rory Williams, Finlay Russell, Tom Weston (Capt), Aaron Foreman, Connor Green, Harry Rickards, Nick Craike, Max Woodward-Smith (vice Capt), Will Legge, Hugo Birch, Charlie Bartlett, Mikey Tsoukkas, Taylor Causer.

This was a very good bonus point away win against a well drilled side with a large physical pack. In the first half KCS played the conditions well and used their kicking game to good effect, however, we were not able to turn pressure into points other than a very well taken try by Mikey on the left wing showing Zebo like skill in volleying his kick ahead which bounced up perfectly just before the try line. Chobham enjoyed some periods of pressure and it required some excellent defence in order to keep them out.

The second half proved to be a different story as Kings took advantage from the start with Tom Weston breaking from the back of an early scrum and a well timed pass put Nick Craike in space along the touch line, with Nick showing a really good turn of pace to score in the corner. Chobham rallied and in a rare defensive lapse they scored under the posts to bring the score back to 7 v 10. However, from then on Kings played some excellent rugby with the backs running in 3 further scores. 2 tries were scored by some excellent play from Harry, Will, and Max WS, with well worked moves resulting in 2 superb tries for Max. Taylor also showed a very good turn of pace when turning over the opposition to make the try line in the corner.

Most of all this was a really strong team performance and the forwards won a very good supply of quality ball which the backs used to great effect. The defence was also very solid, particularly around the fringes when the Chobham forwards tried to punch holes around the side of mauls and rucks. Lessons had clearly been learned from previous games and recent training sessions.

The front row of Aidan Ryce, Tommy Fegan, Will Kinsella, and Charlie Farrell performed very well in winning our own ball and putting pressure on the Chobham scrum. They were all also prominent in the loose; hitting rucks and carrying the ball aggressively, with Aidan making some very big tackles particularly.

The locks, Charlie Allen, Robert Dotchin, Calum Heather and Tom Palmer had solid games and were also prominent in the loose. They contributed to a good lineout display with Charlie being very prominent in the first half.

The back row of Finlay Russell, Rory Williams, Aaron Foreman and captain Tom Weston tackled strongly throughout and competed well for the ball in the loose. They also made some good yardage in open play, with Aaron enjoying a very strong showing when he entered the fray in the second half – some big tackles and strong running.

Scrumhalf Connor was his usual busy self, putting in some big tackles around the field. He led by example as always and his service to Harry was consistently good. Harry Rickards at fly-half had a very strong game. He was strong in defence, carried the ball well and varied the play to good effect, making some telling breaks and putting his centres into space.

The centre pairing of Max Woodward-Smith and Will Legge were rock solid in defence. It was very pleasing to see them attacking with such positive intent and planned moves always producing lots of yardage (including 2 tries).

Hugo Birch didn’t get much chance to show his attacking threat but defended very well when we were under pressure. Nick Craike was always full of running and we managed to get the ball into his hands regularly. Taylor was also excellent in defence and took his try with aplomb.

Charlie Bartlett, was excellent at fullback, and ran the ball back strongly when given the opportunity – unlucky not to score on one occasion.

We now look forward to our next league game at home next week.