Somewhat against the norm Braintree started the game well, putting pressure on the Romford defence. William Wright was distributing the ball well from centre and fed the ball to Ben Speakman. Ben’s path to the line was blocked but he cut inside and to pass to the supporting Ben Cakebread whose quick feet got him over the line. Olly Everitt almost doubled Braintree’s lead when he put a neat kick over the Romford defence. Chasing his own kick, he was unfortunate that the bounce of the ball didn’t go his way on the line.

Romford responded strongly, keeping possession through a series of scrums and lineouts that allowed their speedy backs to test the Braintree defence. However, good Braintree tackling and some uncertain handling by Romford prevented the away side from scoring for several minutes although they eventually did score an equalising try.

Following the re-start Romford launched another attack but Braintree cleared their lines with a kick deep into the Romford half. A good chase by Olly Everitt, Ben Speakman and Ben Cakebread secured the ball and two phases later Tristan Smith passed the ball wide to Dylan Clarke for a try.

Romford hit back again when a Braintree kick out of defence was gathered by a Romford player and the ball was worked to one of their centres who dummied and side-stepped his way through the home defence. A successful conversion made the half time score 10-12 in favour of the away side.

Braintree started the second half on top and Matt Cairns put them back in front. Braintree won an attacking scrum and Ben Cakebread passed inside to Olly Everitt on a switch run. Matt took a pass from Olly and broke through the defensive line to score.

The topsy-turvy nature of the game continued with Romford getting the next try through their skilful number 12. Braintree launched another attack and Tristan Smith crossed the Romford line after a powerful run only to knock on at the crucial moment. Moments later Ben Cakebread restored Braintree’s lead with his second try of the game. Tristan Smith had carried the ball forward from the back of a scrum and Ben was ideally placed in support to receive the ball at speed to cross the line.

With the game in its final stages several of the Braintree forwards were hobbling more than running as the pace of the game and lack of substitutes took their toll. With Braintree having been under the cosh for several minutes Olly Everitt made a good break out of defence, winning a penalty deep in the Romford half. However, Braintree failed to keep possession and gave away a penalty of their own. The Romford 12 again proved their nemesis as he used his pace following a charge by his forwards to score the away side’s fourth try under the posts with seconds remaining. Having converted one of their previous tries while Braintree had failed with each of theirs it was enough for victory.

Despite the disappointing nature of the end of the game, this was a thoroughly enjoyable game to watch between two evenly matched sides. Hopefully the tough lesson learnt about the importance of keeping the ball when defending a narrow lead will stand the boys in good stead later in the season.