Positive start to the season!

A combination of youthfulness and commitment saw a close fought battle...

The Development team took to the field for the first game of the season, against an experienced West Cliff 4s. The first half saw Brentwood playing up the slope, against an older and heavier pack, but the game was well balanced, with much of the play taking play taking place between the 22 metre lines...so much so that the half time score was 0-0.

Brentwood suffered an early injury to Jamie Leslie, who twisted an ankle, but young Josh stepped up from full-back to play in his more familiar role of scrum-half, with West Cliff providing fullback cover from their numerous subs.

The second half started well, and following a well sighted kick to the corner by Dave Goddard, Chris D (No. 8) ran...puffing and panting...40 metres to pip the West Cliff defence to the ball and open the scoring. Unfortunately, the kick was particularly challenging, so Brentwood’s lead stood at 5-0.

West Cliff were relentless in their quest to level the scoring, retaining much of the possession in the second half and continuing to challenge Brentwood’s line for well over 20mins. The defensive commitment and first up tackling by Brentwood was great to see...and an encouraging sight for the first game of the season. Unfortunately, the defence finally gave way when the significantly larger pack managed a push over try from 5metres out, and kicked the conversion to take the lead.

The final score ended 5-7, but the Brentwood team showed strong signs of commitment and were impressive in defence...a great sign for the rest of the season.

* Artistic license is allowed in the preparation of the match report...I can’t remember all of the action, so feel free to elaborate/ embellish as you see fit...

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Note for the team...

Guys...

A great start to the season! I know we lost, but the manner in which we stuck at it, and were committed in defence was impressive for the first game of the season. Set piece let us down a little, but we were giving away a couple of pounds in the scrum, and line-out will come.
We need to build on the momentum and develop a strong team spirit, so I would encourage you to comment/ poke fun at/ banter with the rest of the team off the back of this match report. We will arrange team drinks/ night out/ kindergarten for the youngsters soon, so watch this space!