Coming into the game off of the back of five consecutive wins and sitting in fourth place in the league, Brentwood knew how important a win in this game would be to keep the pressure on the top three. Colchester, having only lost one match, were in second place and have consistently been in the mix at the top of the table in recent seasons so Brentwood were primed for a tough encounter. They were however, dealt an early blow with Sam Kendall limping out of the warm up and the backline having to be shuffled to accommodate his injury – Ed Hornby moving from fullback to centre and Dan Pembroke being promoted from the bench just prior to kick off.

Brentwood, playing up the slope, had the worst possible start and put themselves under immediate pressure straight from kick off. Colchester went long with the kick and a Brentwood fumble under little pressure gave their opposition very early possession and territory deep in the 22 – barely 30 seconds in and attacking scrum to Colchester. Brentwood’s pack however, responded well and an enormous surge in the scrum forced a knock on at the base allowing Brentwood to relieve the pressure and set the scrum precedence for the game.
The relief was short lived as Colchester attacked again from the resulting clearance kick, eventually earning a penalty at the ruck. Their kicker made no mistakes with the central kick, 0-3 to Colchester.

Brentwood regrouped from the restart and, after some strong defensive work for multiple phases, forced a Colchester knock on. Their dominance in the resulting scrum earned them a penalty and the opportunity to launch an attack in Colchester’s half, ultimately leading to a couple more penalties and a missed kick at goal.

From the resulting drop out Brentwood’s forwards first put in some heavy carries up the middle and then down the blind side, which pulled Colchester’s defence in just enough to leave a bit of space on the open side. The backs acted quickly and the ball was whipped to Tom Walker who had come around from the left wing to cut a great line through the centres and had the gas to finish in the corner for a great individual effort. Difficult conversion missed, 5-3 to Brentwood.

Brentwood had the upper hand in the following stages with another scrum penalty, the back row combining very effectively to make yards over the gainline and Adam Thomas rattling a few ribcages in midfield which lead to Brentwood being held up over the try line. Unfortunately, their own ill-discipline was their undoing with a penalty awarded to Colchester for someone being a bit too chatty, a costly error given Brentwood would have had a 5 metre attacking scrum.

This escape rejuvenated Colchester and they put together a good series of plays, gaining field position before finally putting in a great kick to the bottom corner. With the pressure on Brentwood took the lineout but then gave away a vital maul penalty. This was kicked into the corner and with the Colchester lineout and maul going well for the duration of the first half as soon as the ball had been caught there was only going to be one outcome; Colchester duly marching over for the try. Conversion missed and 5-8 to Colchester which is how the scores remained at half time.

Brentwood started the second half as slowly as the first, an early penalty giving Colchester the chance to kick for the corner to try and replicate their first half try. This time, Brentwood managed to disrupt the maul before it started and good work in defence pushed Colchester back to the 22. However, their efforts were thwarted when Colchester shifted the ball wide and executed a great final pass to put their centre outside the Brentwood defence to race down the wing and finish in the corner. Conversion missed, 5-13 to Colchester.

The following passages of play were mainly in the middle of the field and whilst Colchester had the majority of possession Brentwood defended sternly. A turn over at the ruck allowed James Vogel, inspired by his various appearances as injury crisis backs sub, to put in a kick to space down the slope with Brentwood’s chasers forcing the penalty from Colchester’s scrambling defence. The penalty was kicked for the corner with Brentwood setting up a maul of their own. The maul was deemed to be stopped illegally by the referee so Brentwood played the advantage, Tijde Visser making a powerful surge for the line followed by a strong drive from George Bassenger before James White nipped over the line for an archetypal scrum half’s try. Thomas Lucas Roast slotted the conversion, 12-13 to Colchester.

Brentwood were now playing with confidence and consecutive strong carries started by James White and continued by Tijde Visser and George Bassenger left Colchester unable to get back onside. As this had followed several Colchester transgressions it gave way to a team yellow card. Soon after, Brentwood won another scrum penalty with Thomas Lucas Roast kicking the points to give Brentwood the lead, 15-13.
With the man advantage Brentwood continued to press, working their way back down field. Some neat footwork from Toby Tierny got Brentwood in behind and Brentwood’s pack continued to make yards. After multiple phases of good drives, the backs were finlly allowed a go. A classy arching run from Ed Hornby pulled in the defence and a beautifully timed pass to his centre partner Adam Thomas allowed him to draw the final man and pop the ball to Charlie Wilkinson. Charlie, whose limited opportunities in the game thus far were illustrated by his incredibly clean kit, made no mistake in finishing, much to the delight of his ever-present fan club. Conversion missed, 20-13 to Brentwood.
With about ten minutes left to play Brentwood went hard in search of the 4 try bonus point, Colchester’s penalty count costing them another yellow card in the process. With the clock winding down Brentwood were camped on the Colchester try line, a 5 metre attacking scrum awarded in their favour. Brentwood got the nudge on again but the scrum collapsed, the referee surprisingly waving play on. Still in possession, Brentwood were sure they had driven Jack Richards over but unable to see a clear grounding the referee deemed the ball had been held up and blew for full time.

Brentwood will feel slightly disappointed not to get the bonus point and also deny Colchester one but pleased with the win nonetheless. The league now takes a weeks break before 3 crucial pre Christmas fixtures against Sudbury, Harpenden and Southend.