AS winter closes in the T-Birds travelled to a damp and misty Henley on Thames for their Championship One South Fixture.
With a proud Premiership history and links to Oxford University, Henley are always tough nut to crack.
Ts started slowly and the home side pressed hard early on and reaped the reward of a penalty kick to edge ahead 3-0.
However Ts began to stamp their dominance on the set piece and slowly dismantled Henley’s lineout and scrum.
After a number of the Ts familiar silly mistakes where nothing quite goes right they cut loose and put together a 20 minute spell where Henley were just not in the game.
4 trys , 2 from the forwards and 2 from the backs effectively put the game beyond doubt at 3-24 as the half time whistle came.
The chat during the break was all about pushing on and building a score but it was not to be.
Lacking their customary intensity, the T’s fell foul of a picky Referee and never really managed to get going in the second half.
Poor decision making, silly mistakes and a thin squad let Henley back into the game as they used their full bench of fresh legs to good effect.
As Ts pushed desperately for the 5th try and bonus point in the dying seconds, with no cover back, the inevitable happened and Henley went the length of the park to claim a consolation try under the posts and give some respectability to the score at 10-24,
Team: Tuson, Harris, Tyler (T), Sultana, Franklin, Rettie (T), Cook (2C), Nichols, Foy, Mountjoy (T), Jordan. S (T) Jordan. F, Wheeler, Beard, Hepper, Rep: Dyche, Emerson
Next T-Birds game will be at Home on 10th January, preceded by a VP lunch.
As always, Thurrock Ladies, the T-Birds welcome new players of any standard to their 2 teams. No matter how big or small, there is a place for you in a Rugby Team.
The 2nd XV is growing weekly and now has its own dedicated Coaching and Management team. Many are beginners, playing in their first Season, so don’t be put off if you are new to the game.
We can promise you great training and a great social life. Just turn up on a Wednesday evening at 7.30.
