Thurrock RFC U16 v Brentwood RFC U16

Thurrock RFC U16 v Brentwood RFC U16 - Friendly, 05.02.17

Thurrock welcomed Brentwood to Oakfield for a friendly development game whilst a lot of both teams' players were at Essex, however, one Essex training session was cancelled and Ts welcomed back 3 to their team, Brentwood also welcomed several players back which included a former Ts player.

This development game was to be used to give players a run out that had not been involved in games recently, and for them to develop their skills within the team structure, the scoreline was not important but the performance, attitude and team game was.

Ts were given the honour of playing on the first team pitch and despite an enthusiastic start they were on the back foot with a lot of pressure from the Brentwood forwards and after 15 mins found themselves 14 nil down from 2 converted tries. Ts tried to fight back with some delving runs but were met with solid defensive lines by their opponents. Brentwood again showed why they were one of the top sides in the league and nipped through for 2 more tries, one was converted, to take the half time lead of 26 nil.
As the second half got underway, Brentwood continued with 2 quick tries, one of which was converted, but after 18 minutes, Ts took the battle to the Brentwood line and from a scrum Elonas powered over the line for a well deserved Thurrock score. Jimmy added the extras and it was a shot in the arm for Ts and they battled again for the next several minutes and tried again to keep Brentwood on the back foot.
Brentwood stood firm and although Ts' heads did not go down, nor did they seem to tire, they did concede 3 more tries in the last 10 minutes, one converted, through an interception and some slack tackling.

Although the scoreline flattered Brentwood, it was an opportunity for some Ts players to impress on the squad, sometimes trying too hard or not hard enough, but they were certainly up against one of the top teams in the league and their overall performance, camaraderie and team work was a pleasure to watch.

Thurrock RFC U16s 7 - 55 Brentwood RFC U16s
Thurrock;
Tries;
Elonas Butrimas
Cons;
Jimmy Moore

Brentwood;
Tries;
9no.
Cons;
5no.