BRAINTREE...83 BILLERICAY...0 (Canterbury Jack Essex 1 Prem)

BRAINTREE RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 2016/17 SEASON.
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BRAINTREE...83 BILLERICAY...0 (Canterbury Jack Essex 1 Prem)
RAMPANT Braintree sealed the Canterbury Jack Essex 1 title with a devastating 83-0 demolition of Billericay at Robbs Wood on Saturday.
The black and ambers have been a class apart in their league all season and can now look forward to locking horns with some more old foes in London Three North East next season.
Their promotion has never really looked in any doubt during a campaign which has also seen them reach the final of the Essex President’s Shield on April 22.
Braintree were greatful for the fixture after Billericay failed to field a team for the 1st fixture of the season.
To their credit The Bees turned up this time, but in truth they never looked remotely like scoring in what was a searing display of attacking rugby by their hosts.
Brian Joslin and Gary Coote’s men were in total control from the first whistle and destroyed the visitors with a 13-try blitz.
Tom Drew and Joss Adams both scored hat-tricks, with Josh Hine and James Abbott grabbing a brace each and John Smillie, Tom Carslake and Craig Willis also crossing the try line.
The imperious Willis also kept the scoreboard ticking over throughout with an impressive haul of nine conversions to bring his points tally to 273 for the season.
Skipper Smillie led from the front and looked a threat every time he got his hands on the ball but the real damage was done by midfield team-mates Hine, Willis and Adams.
Said Joslin: “It was a real 18-man effort and we looked like we were in the mood to score some tries straight from the kick off.
“Billericay gave it their all and defended stubbornly but in the end we were just far too powerful for them and to wrap the title up with three games to go is very satisfying.”
Promotion marks a renaissance for Tree who voluntarily withdrew from London North East Two towards the end of the 2014/15 season.
Their management team made the difficult decision to drop down two leagues after being unable to field a team for two successive games.
Forfeiting a third would have meant automatic relegation along with a points deduction, so Tree took the initiative to remain masters of their own destiny.
Chair of Selectors David Gilder said: “It was tough dropping two leagues but it was the right thing to do because we were getting beaten every game and the lads started to lose their love for the game.
“We got a lot of grumbles from some clubs in Essex 1 last season, with some claiming we were too strong for the league, yet we only managed to finish third and missed out on the play-offs.
“We have managed to rebuild, which was the whole point of the exercise, and have saved senior rugby at the club in the process.
“We’ve had former players returning to us from university, at least four youngsters coming into the side from the academy and senior players finding a new lease of life.
“This promotion has been hard fought and well earned. Now we want to try and end the campaign unbeaten and win the President’s Shield next month to make it a cracking season.”
Tree are back in Essex 1 Prem action this Saturday when they travel down to Docklands to face Millwall in what promises to be a far from straightforward fixture.
BRUFC: Dann, Abbott, Adams, Willis, Drew, Hine, Martindale, Coote, W Turner, Perry, Apps, Fitzearle, Carslake, Benfield, Smillie. Reps: Johnston, Moss, Richards.