Sevenoaks Rugby 27 - Chobham RFC 8
Sevenoaks Rugby 1st XV bounced back to winning ways on Saturday with victory over Chobham.
The match couldn’t have started any better for the Oaks; a charged-down Chobham kick for touch from the Oaks kick off saw Jonny Short dot the ball down and when Ben Adams slotted the extras Sevenoaks found themselves 7-0 up with all but 10 seconds on the clock.
As it was these 7 points were all the Oaks managed to score in the first half versus a strong Chobham side who had won both their opening matches in London 1 South. The Chobham defensive cohesion impressed as much as the impact of the big hits they made to keep Oaks at bay on the home side’s regular forays into the visitors’ half. But Oaks also had themselves to blame for not adding to their early score, yielding all important field position by giving away some soft penalties at the breakdown and not showing enough patience. Chobham were also beginning to hit their stride, in particular the number 8 who made inroads every time he took the ball up. The navy and golds managed to repel two sustained assaults on the home try line but eventually Chobham pressure told and a try for the visitors from Surrey was followed up with a penalty to close the first half proceedings and give Chobham a narrow 8-7 lead to take into the break.
In all sports they talk about momentum and in the early phases of the second half the visitors held the upper hand before one of those pivotal moments that not only lifts the entire occasion but also shifts the balance inexorably from one side to the other.
It arrived in the form of a majestic gallop by Charlie Naismith to delight the Paddock faithful, as he charged through the middle of the Chobham pack swatting 16 stone opposing players away as if they were mere buzzing flies, before the most dexterous of offloads to McCrae at speed put the Oaks number 8 over in the corner and the trusty boot of Ben Adams did the rest. The pendulum was thereby swung in Oaks’ favour and for all the huff and puff as Chobham pushed hard to narrow the deficit, Sevenoaks held firm and after a further two penalties from Adams the final say of the game went fittingly to the player that opened the Oaks scoring as speedster Short picked up a loose ball from inside his own 22 before sprinting the length of the field to put the ball down under the uprights to give Adams the easiest of conversions and Sevenoaks a solid if slightly flattering 27-8 win against a game Chobham.
“The boys played very well today and having understood what they needed to do to secure the breakdown without getting on the wrong side of the referee, in the second half we came together as a unit to set up the platform for the win,” said Senior Head Coach Adam Bowman. “Results away from the Paddock were equally inspired. Our 2s beat last season’s league winners Sidcup and the Gents beat local rivals Tunbridge Wells to make it three wins from three and a top day for Sevenoaks Rugby.”
To see all the match action from Saturday, click here
Next week the 1st XV hit the road with a trip to Hove RFC, 3:00pm kick off. Visit www.sevenoaksrugby.com for all the latest news from Oaks Rugby.
On the charge! Oaks prop Charlie Naismith makes a key break before offloading to Matt McRae. Photo credit: David Purday