Cheshunt v Chelmsford

The conditions were damp and heavy under-foot but that did not hinder the green and white’s distribution nor the tempo at which they played the first twenty minutes. That initial spell resulted in three tries. The first came from a break by scrum-half Louis (Dutch) Mulholland off the back of a scrum just outside Cheshunt's 22m area. A grubber through was picked up by the Chelmsford wing but the tackle was good and Cheshunt turned over possession; Cheshunt re-cycled quickly and it was Captain Tom (Coops) Cooper that eventually went over to score.

The second and third were almost identical with the Cheshunt midfield sucking-in the Chelmsford defence with some strong runs before the ball was moved wide. With Chelmsford stretched space was available for winger, Kaz (Badger) Topham, to strike. Rounding his opposite number with electrifying-pace both scores were made out wide. Full credit to Kaz, these were both well taken scores (his first of the season).

Uphill in the second-half was going to be hard work but the Cheshunt forwards in particular stuck at it well and were able to force a number of turnovers. It was one of these that led to a penalty from five metres out and it was second-row, Big Rob Fairburn, who went over from a well-worked penalty move. With the conversion from Dutch (3 from 5) Cheshunt were well clear and rounded off their day with another try, this time from fly-half, Scott (Mr Dynamite) Glynn.

There were notable performances from second row, Sean (the Crimson Chin) Chinn, who was dominant in the line-out; centre Alex Wistow, who really tested the Chelmsford midfield with his running-lines; and substitutes Max Longstaff and Alex Christou who both played their part in the set piece and loose. We also saw the welcome return from injury of winger, Johnny (Wile e Coyote) Scott, and back row, Will (Nightmare) Payne, who had a great game putting in some big tackles to deny Chelmsford the gain-line.

All in all it was a very nice start to the new year.

Dave Mulholland