London Northeast Division 2 Chelmsford 5 SWF 10

SWF travelled the short distance to Chelmsford, and with Chelmsford no doubt keen to put the record straight after losing at Saltcoats this was not going to be a game for the faint hearted. The strong wind was blowing straight across the pitch so kicking and ball control was going to be crucial. SWF were playing downhill in the first half and straight from the kickoff they put pressure on Chelmsford. After several phases the ref penalised Chelmsford just outside their 22 and a chance to score the first points, but Gittos had other ideas, Adam Brown kicked to the corner for the lineout and after securing the ball and recycling Duggan came off his wing to power over to leave SWF ahead 5-0 after 4 minutes.
SWF kept Chelmsford pinned in their 22 but could not convert their domination into points until the 29th minute when again having played several phases in and around the Chelmsford try line Dave Langley went straight through the Chelmsford defence to score and see the score double to 10-0, SWF then missed two kickable penalties with the wind playing havoc. Chelmsford had rarely got out of their half but now they woke up and with Mason kicking well from hand pushed into the SWF 22 with half time closing in. Chelmsford kept control of the ball and battered the SWF defence, and the referee decided that Wilson had pulled down a maul and he was sinbinned for 10 minutes, still the defence held out and with the clock showing 46 minutes SWF supporters were howling for the half time whistle to no avail. The referee intervened again and sent number 8 Bull to the bin and finally in the 47th minute chelmsford crossed the line to record their first try. The score at half time Chelmsford 5 SWF 10.
The fear on the touchline was that SWF had not got enough on the board and with Chelmsford playing down the hill our defence was going to be sorely tested and it was and it passed the test with a display of heart, courage and sometimes desperate defending. There was to be no more scoring in the game but both sides had chance. Chelmsford kept pushing deep into the SWF 22 but could not get past the committed and focused defence. For SWF when they broke out Price and Duggan both had chances to score only to be foiled by a knock on by Price and a last ditch tackle by the Chelmsford scrum half on Duggan as he sprinted towards the Chelmsford line. The tackling and rucking was fierce all through both teams and the ref was having trouble keeping up with events sometimes missing bodies lying on the pitch clearly hurt. He also nearly undone SWF resistance with sin bins but thankfully the lads stayed focused to come out on top in the end. The game finished in near darkness but there was a glow on all SWF faces and as we head into the Christmas break the team can be rightly proud of their achievements in 2013. There was awesome displays all over the SWF team and there were 18 men of the match on the day.
SQUAD - Neil Gittos Captain, David Langley, Lewis Gilbert, James Wilson, Greg Tighe, Paul Morgan, Paul Pickworth, Liam Searles, John Murphy, David Bull, Joe Dukelow, Adam Brown, Curtis Apthorp, Ross Rawinski, Warren Duggan, James Price, Jordan Harper, Philip Lockwood,

We look forward to seeing you all down at the club over Christmas and new year