BRAINTREE RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB SEASON 2018/19.
Any copy queries to BRUFC Publicity Officer John Troup on 07860-179347.
MALDON…38 BRAINTREE…58 (London 3 Essex)
BRAINTREE earned a five-point bonus win after edging out local rivals Maldon thanks to a nine-try blitz in an entertaining game.
East London’s win at King’s Cross Steelers effectively ended Tree’s wafer thin promotion hopes.
But victory in their last game of the season at home to Millwall this Saturday will secure third place for the black and ambers in what has been a campaign of steady consolidation.
Maldon kicked off but Tree were immediately on the attack, forcing a penalty in midfield before kicking to touch and winning the resulting line-out.
A trademark catch and drive move put pressure on Maldon’s line before flanker Will Humphreys broke away to score. 5-0.
On 14 minutes the visitors went further ahead after winning scrum ball just inside their own half.
Fly-half Josh Wadforth drifted through a gap and found winger Ben Gough looping round from his blindside to score. 10-0.
Try number three arrived only two minutes later as shellshocked Maldon were pressing Tree’s 22.
The ball was dropped and a quick kick through by Wadforth sent the ball deep into the opposition half.
It then bounced up nicely for the pursuing Wadforth, enabling him to collect the kick himself and score before converting to give his side a 17-0 lead.
But the game turned on 23 minutes and the hosts came steaming back into contention after winning a penalty awarded against their opponents for not rolling away.
It was kicked to touch to trigger a line-out crash ball move through the outside centre channel for a converted try. 17-7.
Four minutes later Maldon were gifted an interception pass as Tree were breaking out of their own 22, running in a simple try out wide. 17-12.
The half-hour mark arrived and Maldon were suddenly level after being awarded yet another penalty in Tree’s 22 leading to a quick tap and try. 17-17.
But the visitors wrested back control on 34 minutes by earning their bonus point try after winning a penalty and taking the scrum option to capitalise on their pack dominance.
Another penalty resulted leading to a second scrum from which simple hands in the backs enabled Gough to grab his second try of the game and give Tree a 22-17 interval lead.
The second half started badly for the visitors as a fumbled ball at the re-start was gathered by Maldon, whose winger ran in to score a converted try that gave them the lead. 22-24.
Wadforth nosed Tree back in front with a penalty before centre Joe Young crashed over to score following a series of scrum penalties, Wadforth converting. 32-24.
On 59 minutes the home side drew to within a point as another gift of an interception enabled them to score and convert from inside their own half. 32-31.
Six minutes later 18-year-old winger Elliott Swallow got in on the act in only his second appearance for the first team, scoring out wide. 37-31.
On 70 mins Maldon’s fans thought they had secured a rare win as Tree again looked to run out of their 22, only to be deemed to have a player crossing in front.
The penalty was kicked to touch and the hosts won the line-out win before spreading the ball wide for a try which was skilfully converted to give them a narrow lead. 37-38.
But this season’s black and ambers cohort are nothing if not resilient and they stormed back to seize victory with a sparkling final 10 minutes.
On 72 minutes full-back Glen Whyatt capitalised after another clean scrum win, cutting through at an angle to score, with Wadforth converting. 44-38.
Rookie Swallow then added his second try of the fame from drop-out re-start, with Wadforth’s conversion sealing victory. 51-38.
The ruthless visitors when added another score from the final play, Wadforth drifting through a now tired defence to run in his second and finish with another conversion. 58-38.
BRUFC Chair of Selectors David Gilder said: “We know you can't take a win for granted in local derby against Maldon who are always difficult opposition.
“We made really hard work of this win. We seemed to make more mistakes and miss more tackles then we had this half of the season.
“A brilliant final 10 minutes wrapped things up for us, even though we’d be the first to admit that a 20-point winning margin rather flattered us.”
BRUFC Head Coach Jamie Clarke said: “We were pleased to get the result we needed in what turned out to be a really close game until we pulled away at the end.
“I wasn’t surprised that Maldon were really up for the game and were very physical.
“They’ve struggled a bit this season and relegation awaits, but this is a local derby and they produced a performance which if reproduced next season will see them bounce back up.
“It was not our best performance, especially defensively, but in the end we did well to front up to the physical challenge and score some impressive tries in the process.”
It was a good weekend for the whole club as Tree’ second team running out 40-5 winners following their victory away to Felixstowe.
Colebrook Offshore Man of the Match: Will Humphreys.
BRUFC: Whyatt, Swallow, Meade, J Young, Gough, Wadforth, Keelan Joslin, T Colebrook, Hardin, Prince, W Turner, Perry, J Stanhope, Humphreys, T Carslake. Reps: Page, Thomson, H Stanhope.