Sevenoaks Rugby Club 40 – Thurrock RFC 15
A youthful and energetic Sevenoaks Rugby 1st XV showed patience and maturity to put away a resolute Thurrock RFC 40-15 at Knole Paddock on Saturday 1 September.
Oaks scrum half Matt Holmes breaks through a Thurrock tackle to score the opening try for Oaks. Photo Credit: Wes Filtness
The two hundred-strong Paddock faithful roaring the Oaks on were graced with sunny weather and bright running rugby as Sevenoaks opened its League account with a compelling team performance that owed much to the hard yards, sweat and pain of nine weeks of pre-season training.
The opening exchanges, however, saw the visitors in the ascendency, and it was Thurrrock who crossed the line first following a midfield break. Their advantage was pegged back by the imperious boot of Ben Adams, who both opened and closed the scoring for Sevenoaks – providing the icing on the cake of an outstanding performance in all but the final play of the game by scoring a try on the counter that was set up by Cormac Barry, which he duly converted.
The nip and tuck match was tight to half-time. Although Oaks were 23-10 up at the break following the first of two tries by centre Thorneycroft after scrum half Matt Holmes’ opening try for Oaks, you sensed Thurrock was still in the game and that perhaps the monster 3-pointer from the half-way line by Adams midway through the first half would prove vital.
Thurrock certainly started the second half the livelier of the two teams, and pressed hard at Oaks with solid running in the 10/12 channel and aggressive forays by a strong five-eighth. But the Oaks defensive patterns held sway, and even though Thurrock broke through for a try to make it 26-15 following another immaculate penalty from Ben Adams, as the clock ticked on the Oaks began to gel and the home side’s fluidity resulted in a well worked try in the corner for McCrae before a second for Thorneycroft. By this stage fitness was having its say and although Thurrock continued to take the game to Oaks, the navy and golds were growing in confidence, and held the upper hand in both forwards and backs to close out the game in some style.
Sticking the boot in. Man of the Match Ben Adams plundered 20 points for Oaks. Photo Credit: Wes Filtness
“I am delighted for the players,” said Head Coach Adam Bowman after the match. “We have worked very hard in recent weeks, and our focus in training clearly shone through today. There was great news away from the Paddock as well, with wins for the 2nd XV and the 4th XV in friendly fixtures versus Vigo. We will build confidence from these results to take us into another intense week of training.”
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Next week the Oaks hit the road in the League, with the 1st XV away to London Cornish, 3:00pm kick off. We welcome all support at Sevenoaks Rugby – visit our website to find out more about when and where to show your support for your local team: www.sevenoaksrugby.com