9 October 2005
After two free-scoring away victories Medway under-14s were expecting
a tough match at home against Thurrock, who were looking to revenge last
season's heavy defeat. Medway started well, and after 3 minutes a drive
by Ian Finlay and a follow-up by Joe Jelfs brought the attack to within
a metre of the line, and scrum-half Ryan Ellis was able to dive in for
the first try. Medway kept up their momentum, and scored again after 6
minutes. A fine dummy switch move between fly-half James Davis and Stewart
Stockford put the defence on the wrong foot, and Richard Verrall
took full advantage to burst through the centre and score under the posts. Verrall
converted his own try to make the score 12 - 0.
If Medway thought they would now run away with it they were to be disappointed. Thurrock's defence tightened, and they were able to make several forays into Medway's half. The visitors were putting pressure on Medway's backs and forcing errors, so Medway switched to a driving game. Three times Medway's forwards drove over the Thurrock goal line only for the ball to be held up by some desparate defending, and the teams turned round without any further addition to the score.
Thurrock started the second half with renewed belief and were able to threaten the Medway goal line for the first five minutes. However, the game then reverted to the pattern of the first half. A penalty on the visitor's 22 was moved swiftly through Medway's backs, until they were stopped 5 metres out. Skipper Gavin Hyder picked the ball out of the ruck and dived in to score, and Stockford converted. Seven minutes later, Hyder again made a decisive move by fly-hacking a loose ball towards the Thurrock line. The ball luckily bounced off the base of a post, throwing the last defender off balance, and Verrall pounced to score his second and Medway's fourth try. Stockford again converted.
By now, Thurrock were relying increasingly on kicking to gain ground and relieve pressure. Three minutes from the end, full back Tom Bourne fielded a high ball on the half way line and accelerated into the Thurrock defence, shifting the ball to Jelfs. For once Medway had an overlap and right winger James Collier collected Jelfs' pass and ran in for the last score of the match, making the final score 31 - 0.
