With no win in 3 for Brentwood and Sidcup arriving on the back of 30 point victory the previous week only the staunchest of supporters could have forseen not only the margin of victory but the manner in which it was delivered. Dominant in every part of the game except for 2 lost lineouts in the first half, they held the visitors to just 1 try in the first half and ran away with the game in the second. 5 tries for the forwards tells a story, they bullied their opposite numbers all game and should be congratulated for coming out on top of a notoriously powerful Sidcup forward pack.
The forward dominance was displayed in the very first scrum of the game which Brentwood won against the head. It sent a message that, unlike in the reverse fixture earlier on in the season, Brentwood would not come out second best as a unit. It also allowed the backs to put together some lovely rugby which was rewarded on 10 minutes when Henry Galligan, starting at scrumhalf in the absence of James White, spotted a gap and scored out wide. A fine Burr conversion followed and Brentwood were only 3 points behind after Sidcup had scored a fine try of their own from deep and a successful penalty. Sidcup used the wind and slope well with intelligent kicking that kept the hosts pinned back but they could not break through the resolute home defence, epitomised by 2 turnovers won by Matt Whaley and George Bassenger which stopped Sidcup attacks in their tracks deep into Brentwood’s 22 metre line.
H/T: Brentwood 7 – 10 Sidcup
Brentwood had played well in the first half and had showed flashes of what they are capable of, in the second half they put together a complete team performance and finished moves that earlier in the season had frustratingly been missed. The forwards carried strongly, won their lineouts and tackled aggressively and the backs put together some fantastic moves and used the front foot ball provided by the forwards to good effect. The first try of the second half was from a well won lineout and rolling maul, finished off by the returning Anthony Sherwood. Man of the Match Dan Suttle powered through a gap and finished well under the posts soon after and Sherwood scored a carbon copy of his first to bring up the try bonus point on 60 minutes. Soon after Matt Whaley ran a great line and collected a pass from Burr, he unselfishly offloaded to Jack Richards who powered under the post for the hosts’ 5th try on 65 minutes, the final forwards’ try came on 75 minutes when captain Ben Amato scored from close range. The game had become a bit scrappy by then and Sidcup were rewarded for some fine play on 78th minute, their joy was shortlived as Adam Thomas dummied past a flailing defender and timed his pass perfectly for Charlie Wilkinson to cap a fine individual performance with a finish in the corner. With Burr converting all 7 tries Brentwood has comprehensively beaten their visitors 49 – 17.
A game to remember for the home fans, a fine all round performance to move the team out of the bottom 3 in the league. A difficult task to pick the DAVLAV man of the match but Dan Suttle was deservedly given the honour, strong in defence and carried well all game and scored one of the tries of the match.
Team: Sherwood, Bevans-Royston, Visser, Suttle, Killington, Whaley, Bassenger, Amato, Galligan, Burr, Wilkinson, Thomas, Hornby, Parris, Lucas-Roast Subs: Richards, Vogel, Williams