Manor were due to travel to Brentwood this week but due to their pitches being unplayable Brentwood opted to play the game at Eton Manor. Earlier in the season the two sides played out a closely fought game which Brentwood won in the dying minutes of the match leaving Manor deflated as they felt they had done enough to win the game. This was a chance to reverse that loss, and they did in some style.

Manor kicked off the match and although the early exchanges were fairly even it was apparent that Manors pack had the upper hand, with a stronger tight five and effective backrow that were highly competitive at the breakdown. Manors lineout woes from last week had been cured with the inclusion of prop Jamie Hulse who took on the throwing in duties with great affect. Firstly Tom Christopher took the first line out of the day which allowed Rhys Davis-Horne to put an excellent kick deep into Brentwood’s 22, which rolled into touch for an defending lineout. Christopher then stole the Brentwood throw and Manors backs attacked but a knock on gave possession back to the visitors and a long, wind assisted kick by their fly half saw play go all the way up field into Manors 22. Manor again won the lineout but as they drove the ball up they gave away a penalty giving Brentwood an easy chance to open the scoring, which they took and lead 0 – 3 after 3 minutes.

From the restart Brentwood tried to run the ball back at Manor but the ball carrier was isolated and when tackled Davis-Horne got over the ball and won a penalty which was kicked for a lineout 6 meters from Brentwood’s try line. Jack Sullivan secured the throw in which allowed the hosts to set up a series of drives at the line. Sam Jackson, Kirk Chettleburgh and Ryan Lee all tried to break through but Brentwood defended well, but the ref was playing advantage for offside and brought play back. Cameron Dutch took a quick tap, ghosted outside the first defender then headed for the corner and dived over the line to score despite 3 defenders trying to stop him. He took the conversion attempt himself which went wide. After 8 minutes Manor led 5 – 3, a lead that they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the game.

Manor were in control of the game but indiscipline was costing them and giving easy possession back to Brentwood, but it was Manor who scored again after launching an attack from deep inside their half. Mike Sage gathered a long Brentwood kick and took play into the middle of the park before passing on to Dutch who again beat a number of defenders before linking up with Davis-Horne who made ground before passing back to Dutch, he went for the line but was brought down short, injuring his knee in the process, Sullivan was on hand to finish the job as he powered over the line to score Manors second try. Sage was unlucky with the conversion attempt and after 28 minutes Manor led 10 – 3. Dutch had to leave the field to be replaced by new recruit, debutant Nathan McCloy.

Manor now had to defend for a period and whilst their defence was tested, it didn’t look like being breached. For all Brentwood’s possession it was Manor who scored again when Chettleburgh intercepted a pass on halfway and raced into Brentwood’s 22 but was denied a score by a last ditch tackle bringing him down 5 meters short of the line. Manor were there in numbers and won a penalty. A quick tap and go allowed Sullivan to drive for the line but when he was brought down a few meters short, Chettleburgh was on had to pick and drive the ball over the line. Sage added the extra points taking Manors lead to 17 – 6.

Manor soon gave Brentwood another opportunity to reduce the deficit when penalised at the breakdown, the visiting kicker took the points on offer 17 – 9 after 32 minutes.

The rest of the half saw Manor being repeatedly penalised giving Brentwood territorial advantage, but all they could muster was a kick at goal which was missed and the half came to a close with Manor 17 – 9 ahead.

Brentwood kicked off the second half with the wind again in their favour as it had changed direction. After securing the kick off for some reason Manor tried to clear the ball by kicking high, the result was the ball was held up in the wind making little ground and handing possession to Brentwood. The visitors retained possession well and after a number of phases of play they broke through Manors defence to score their first try. With the conversion successful Brentwood were right back in the contest at 17 – 16 after 4 minutes of the second half.
Manor hit back almost immediately when Brentwood were awarded a scrum 10 meters out from their line. Manor got the drive on and with Nick Horton putting pressure on the opposition scrum half, his pass out went astray and bobbled loose in the middle of the pitch. Brentwood got their hands on it but Davis-Horne held the ball up and Samuel Wamala ripped the ball free before being taken to ground, Manor then drove the ball on before Jackson got possession and powered over the line for Manors try bonus point score. With Sage adding the extras Manor had stretched their lead to 24 – 16 after 7 minutes.

Manor soon scored again after Chettleburgh drove the restart forward, Manor then attempted a clearance kick but it was half blocked and bounced awkwardly towards the touchline. Manors Elliott Brown went to gather the ball but looked to have knocked it on and then kicked it forward, but played on waiting for the refs whistle, which never came. Brentwood had hesitated waiting for the whistle and this was all the speedy Brown needed as he chased his kick from the halfway line, this time gathering the ball cleanly and out pacing the converging defenders to score and with the ref believing the ball had initially come of Browns foot he awarded the try, much to Brentwood’s annoyance and with their winger unable to control his anger he was sent to the sin bin for dissent. The conversion was missed and Manor had pulled further away on the scoreboard, 29 – 16 after 11 minutes.

With Manor soon back on the attack, they thought that they had added to their tally when they won a scrum close to Brentwood’s 22 and moved the ball out to their backs, Davis-Horne sent a long miss pass out to Sage on the wing, he rounded his opposite number and raced over the line only for the ref to deem the final pass forward bringing play back for a scrum.

Manors next score came after a period of pressure defending close to their 22, they turned the ball over and Davis-Horne sent a long kick deep into Brentwood’s 22. Here they attempted to kick the ball clear but it was charged down by Jackson who gathered it but was brought down a few meters short of the line. Manor set the ball up and moved to back to the middle of the pitch where Wamala went for the line but was brought down, but set the ball up so that Sullivan was able to pick the ball up and stroll over the line for his second try of the match. With the conversion missed Manor now led 34 – 16 after 20 minutes of the second half.

Although Brentwood continued to test Manors defences, it was Manor who took the opportunities that they created and their next score was possibly the best of the bunch. Davis-Horne again sent a long kick downfield which Brentwood fumbled giving Manor a scrum 30 meters out. With the ball secured it was moved along the line where Sage joined in from his wing, Manor ran a series of dummy runs taking Brentwood’s defenders out of position, this created a gap which Sage darted through, he then stepped outside one defender then inside the next and sprinted, unopposed under the posts for a seven point score taking Manor to a commanding 41 – 16 lead with 25 minutes gone.

Brentwood again came back at Manor and showed that they were a quality side with some swift handling and powerful running they worked their way into Manors 22, here Manor were caught out defending too narrowly and Brentwood took advantage of space out wide to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but Brentwood had narrowed the score to 41 – 21.

With their tails up Brentwood continued to push for another score but Manor weathered the storm and cleared the danger with another long kick from Davis-Horne, Brentwood tried to run the ball back but Manors chase had been good and the ball carrier was brought to ground allowing Chettleburgh to get over the ball and win a penalty, with some more back chat to the ref, Brentwood were marched back another 10 meters bringing the penalty into kicking range, Sage took the opportunity and added another three points to Manors total, 44 – 21 with 6 minutes left to play.

Brentwood did add another try to their tally with a well worked score out wide and although they went in search of a further try that would have given them a try scoring bonus, Manors line wasn’t crossed again and the game finished with Manor comfortable winners 44 – 21 giving them the maximum 5 points and denying Brentwood any points and so leapfrogging them in the league.

After the game D.O.R Mark Farrell said “ After last weeks meagre loss, Head Coach Connors told our players a week is a long time in rugby, well he was certainly right! With 8 changes to the side, the contrast in last weeks under par performance to this weeks emphatic win against higher placed Brentwood could not have been bigger. Manor’s strong tight five took the game to their opponents; our tenacious back row quicker & far more effective on the gain line. With scrum and lineout functioning well and scrum half Horton pulling the strings, our backs were allowed to dictate the play; seven well created tries scored and a few more certainly went begging! We showed yet again what this side is capable of when it connects.

The squad is focussed and determined to press on and win its last four league fixtures to secure a top five league placing. And as our second team prepares for its Essex Cup Semi Final v Colchester this coming Saturday at Nutter Lane, things are certainly hotting up at the business end of the season”.