Following the christmas period and the inclement weather, the borough’s second string had not played since mid-December and were looking forward to a battle with a side that they had narrowly lost to earlier in the season.
The side that had played earlier in the season was a weakened side to facilitate the experimental variations of the first team in the cup. And despite losing a few players before the kick off to illness and the first team again, the side was looking strong.
From the start, Thurrock showed their dominance by some superb interpassing which carved the opposition apart, leading to an easy three pointer in front of the posts for Aaron Burns.
From the restart, Thurrock simply swept the opposition aside and scored with some glorious angles of running, led by Hooker Elliott Keefe, who played like a man that should be playing several levels above this standard.
But the levels of support and skill from Dan Kemp, Rees Collins, Reece Cunningham, Ben Partridge and Lee Herrington raised the pace of the game and the visitors simply could not live with it. However, late into the half some ill discipline from Thurrock allowed Chelmsford to take a quick penalty and spin the ball to South African Centre Lee Bok to crash over for a fine try to bring the closing score for the half at 34-7.
With the home side scarcely breaking into a sweat, they decided to turn the screw on the visitors and the resulting rugby was sublime. Fraser Kidd, in his debut performance at outside half was impressive and one to watch for the future, but it was the front row combination of Elliott Keefe and powerhouse Ben Partridge that opened up the opposition, with forwards and backs alike, crossing the line to score.
To Chelmsford’s credit, they never threw in the towel and scored two late consolation tries, once again from Thrurrock’s ill discipline. Thurrock scorers: Elliott Keefe (2), Dan Kemp, Reece Cunningham, Rees Collins, Lee Herrington, Danny Cousins, Ben Partridge, Ricky Love and Fraser Kidd, with Aaron Burns adding 7 conversions and 1 penalty.
