This week Manor made the long journey to Sudbury with a much changed squad from last weeks impressive victory against North Walsham, Callum McKie was welcomed back after being side lined by injury for nearly a year, in addition Chris Smith made his first team debut and making his debut from the bench was Chris Vickers, yet another player from the increasing pool of players who have been part of the Eton Manor Youth set up and have worked their way through the teams and gained a first team call up. Unfortunately the game was not a good spectacle of free flowing rugby with neither side playing to their best combined with over officious refereeing.
Manor made their traditional slow start by conceding two scrums close to their 22 where on the second scrum they were penalised for collapsing giving Sudbury an easy penalty which they converted into three points and after three minutes led 0 – 3.

Manor soon struck back when a Sudbury lineout close to the hallway was stolen by Rory Moore, Manor set off on a driving maul that took play to just outside Sudbury’s 22 where the ball was moved along the line to Max Murray who had joined in the attack from fullback, he then shipped the ball out to Smith who from 20 metres out stepped inside his man, crashed through three attempted tackles and dived over the line for Manors first score of the day. With McKie unsuccessful with the conversion Manor led 5 – 3 after 8 minutes.

Sudbury soon showed that they are a side that didn’t deserve to be at the bottom of the league when shortly after the restart Manor put in a clearance kick which saw the ball fall to Sudbury’s No 8, he set off on a mazy run breaking through too many ineffectual tackles taking play inside Manor 22, here despite being brought to ground the home side quickly recycled the ball and drove at Manors defence then worked the ball out wide to their left wing who dived in at the corner. Although the conversion attempt was missed after 10 minutes Sudbury had retaken the lead 5 – 8.

From the restart Manor dominated both possession and territory keeping Sudbury pinned in and around their 22 for the next 15 minutes but a combination of some good defending and poor execution meant that Manor did not make their advantage count. When Sudbury did eventually get some possession, they attacked into Manors half but poor handling let them down and when the ball was turned over Smith, Garth Tucker, Jack Sullivan and Misiona Evagelia all punched holes in Sudbury’s defence eventually winning a penalty which Manor kicked for an attacking lineout 8 meters out. With the lineout secured by Sullivan, Manor drove the ball forward before releasing it out to Nick Horton who put a chip kick over the try line and chased after the ball getting his hands to the bouncing ball first and appeared to have grounded it before it went dead but the ref was not in a good position and decided that the ball had just gone dead giving Sudbury a 22 drop out.

From the drop out Manor soon worked the ball back into Sudbury’s 22 and from a ruck quick ball was fed along the line to winger Luigi Martelletti who dived in at the corner only to have the ball knocked out of his grasp as he tried to ground the ball.
Despite Manor still bossing the game Sudbury launched a fast paced attack of their own when they won a scrum inside their half, the No 8 picked up from the base and fed his open side flanker who set off at pace through Manors defence and took play inside Manors 22, here Manor had regrouped and won a penalty which allowed them to kick to touch on the halfway line. With 35 minutes of the half gone Manor were running out of time to add to their score.

From the lineout Manor worked their way back into Sudbury’s 22, here a bullocking run by Sullivan won Manor a penalty in front of the posts. McKie took the points on offer and although there was time for the restart the ref soon brought the half to an end with the scores tied at 8 – 8

With Sudbury kicking off the second half, they started the brighter of the two sides when their fly half made a good break from their 10 meter line outpacing Manors defenders before chipping the ball into Manors 22, here Freddie Newbury was first to the ball and put in a clearance kick to relieve the danger.

With the thrown in not straight Manor were awarded a scrum, this allowed them to drive the ball up field with centres Smith and substitute Andrew Connors proving difficult to stop and with play moving to within 30 meters of Sudbury’s line Manor were awarded another scrum. Here Tucker drove off from the back and was proving difficult to stop as he took play into the hosts 22. When he was eventually brought to ground the ball was quickly recycled and fed to the backs, here with Connors running a decoy line the ball was fed to the onrushing Martelletti who had come in from his wing and took the ball through the centre crashing through the first attempted tackles, then racing for the line and despite two defenders trying to tackle him close to the line he had the power to drive through them and dive over the line for a well worked try. With Smith taking on the kicking duties, the extra points were added and after 15 minutes of the second half Manor had taken a 15 – 8 lead.

The game now became a very disjointed affair and as the light faded both sides made numerous handling errors that brought a halt to any promising attacking moves including a break by Connors inside Sudbury’s 22 where after breaking tackles he tried to offload the ball to Smith with Sudbury’s defence stretched, only to see the ball get knocked on.

As the game rumbled on to its conclusion, it was Sudbury who were finishing the stronger and put Manors defence under pressure in their search for the 7 point score that would tie the match. They won a number of penalties that allowed them to kick for touch inside Manors 22, but their lineout was not functioning and Vickers, on for his debut, stole the throw in allowing Manor to clear their lines. But still Sudbury pressed with their impressive winger making 25 meters with a mazy run into Manors 22, but their handling let them down and a knock on brought to an end a promising attack.

Manor did launch attacks of their own, one coming from a clearance kick by Horton which saw the ball head towards Sudbury’s 22 chased by Martelletti and Sullivan who combined well to strip the Sudbury fullback of the ball before driving into Sudbury’s 22 only to hear the shrill of the refs whistle for yet another infringement.

As the game drew to a close, Manor had to withstand pressure from Sudbury who continued to press for the final score but despite all their efforts Manors line was not really threatened due to a combination of good defence and some poor execution from Sudbury. The last play of the match saw Sudbury change tactics when, unable to break through Manors defence, they chose to kick ahead but the ball went straight into touch bringing to an end a scrappy game which saw Manor take the spoils 15 – 8.

Manor had won the game but were not pleased with their performance and knew that they were capable of playing a lot better. Sudbury had proved difficult opponents and their efforts certainly belied a team that is currently at the bottom of the league. Their performances appear to be improving, a fact that is shown by their recent home draw with Chingford and narrow defeat away to Brentwood and no doubt if they maintain their level of play they will soon turn narrow defeats into victories.

Next week Manor welcome Chelmsford to the New Wilderness, they are currently having a torrid time as this weeks 106 – 0 defeat at Brentwood shows, but Manor must not take anything for granted and must expect to face a team wanting to prove that they are better than recent results show.