The weekend started poorly for Chelmsford Rugby Club with the Undertakers’ game being cancelled due to their opposition withdrawing from the league and the Bluebirds’ game being cancelled as their opposition was unable to field a full team, writes Annie Coulson.
The responsibility to lift the club’s collective spirits fell to the men who played for the first and second teams. Unfortunately, this was not to be and Chelmsford’s first team lost 44-12 to Upper Clapton and the second team lost 65-5 to Eton Manor.
Storm Brian played a distinct role and in the first half against Upper Clapton, the Blue Boys played into a strong wind.
For the first 20 minutes of the match, Chelmsford looked to be the stronger team and they led by keeping the ball in hand and relying on the forward pack to drive the ball up the pitch.
Winger Will Ferrier put points on the board after picking up a loose ball and sprinting 60 metres to score the team’s first try. Unfortunately, Upper Clapton then scored a penalty and for the rest of the first half Chelmsford were under pressure.
Upper Clapton used Chelmsford’s mistakes well but, to their credit, their kicker also had an excellent conversion rate despite the extraordinary winds.
Throughout the second half Chelmsford found themselves, once again, on the back foot and scrambling to get up in defence. Chelmsford’s lack of speed to the breakdowns and the gaps in their defensive line gave Upper Clapton opportunities to steal the ball and break through and this was exacerbated by some poor kicks, when Chelmsford would have been better off playing the ball in hand as they had earlier.
Chelmsford did score again, when Warren Woodward – playing at scrum-half, after Ben Bayley was carried off the pitch with a knee injury – burst through a gap after several 5 metre scrums.
Chelmsford were beaten by a better more committed team on the day but they contributed to their loss with some poor decision making, skills technique and not sticking to a game plan.
Chelmsford’s first team hope for redemption at home against Sudbury on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
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