Harlow 10 Chelmsford 13

Chelmsford faced Harlow for the second time this season, having been defeated on home turf in 2017, and they played like they had something to prove.

The first half of the game showed Chelmsford dominating play and the half was spent almost entirely in Harlow territory with the forwards winning several consecutive rucks and allowing Chelmsford to run their set plays.

Despite this Chelmsford dominance, the Blue Boys only scored once in the first half, as Adam Cunnah dived onto a timely kick from scrum-half, Tom Day. As half-time approached, it looked as though Chelmsford had made poor use of their possession and tensions rose as Harlow were awarded a penalty deep in the Chelmsford half and a well-placed kick saw Harlow bring the score to 3-5.

The second half continued in much the same vein; Chelmsford continued to look superior and breaks from Cunnah and Will Ferrier almost brought Chelmsford two more tries.

It took 20 minutes, however, to breach the Harlow defence as Cunnah sidestepped two players before finally being tackled. But a good support line by Cam Arnott meant that Cunnah could offload and Arnott scored a converted try.

The game became messy in the final five minutes with Chelmsford starting to look complacent, giving away several penalties.

With full-time fast approaching, and after a succession of line-outs, Harlow opted to ‘tap and go’, pushing their way over the line for a converted try. It looked as though the game would end in a draw but Chelmsford were awarded a penalty, 35 metres out and Sid Hoult secured a hard won victory for the Blue Boys with a beautiful kick amidst blustering winds.

The veteran undertakers also secured a win, 38-14 at home against Southend, further cementing their position as ‘ones to watch’.

The 2nd XV had an unlucky 21-18 loss to Rochford at home, though their performance was markedly improved.

Finally, the ladies 1st XV suffered a 61-0 defeat, away to Woodbridge.

Several injuries saw players out of position with Sarah Milford, loosehead prop, playing number 8 and Laura Farnsworth, long time flanker, on the wing. Several inexperienced players saw their first full game and coped admirably. The Bluebirds see this game as a learning experience and hope to continue to develop.