Fitful Encounter

There was a febrile atmosphere at Oakffield on Saturday as two local rivals struggled to find any continuity in a stop/start encounter.

The fabulous facilities at Thurrock played host to a full-blooded contest, with first one side, then the other grabbing moments of superiority.

Dagenham fielded a number of former Thurrock players in their ranks including crowd favourites Brad Retigan, Earl Gorman, captain Nat Farrell and impish scrum-half, Josh Cook.

Former William Edwards student, Josh Groom, is an outstanding young centre with a fine pedigree.

Thurrock were without the outstanding Rhys Cotter and Harry Reynolds as well as experienced players Jake Bedding and Alex Jones, the latter called to higher matters on the day!

Thurrock kicked off in glorious sunshine with a strengthening wind at their backs and set off with good rhythm and line speed. Scott Chitty, on his home debut, was getting through a vast amount of work getting the line going and Fly-half, Blake Burns sent the visitors into reverse with a couple of raking spiral kicks.
In the meantime, Brad Retigan was demonstrating that he has lost none of his rugby acumen as he carried,tackled, and won line-out as well as ever.

There were some powerful interventions from Farrell and Gorman to remind home fans of yesteryear and Josh Cook showed that he has lost none of the skills of youth!
Josh Groom is turning into the quality centre that his pedigree had suggested and Dagenham were well served by Mitch Sinfield and Charlie Wilkinson in the back row.

Nevertheless, it was Thurrock who had most of the early dominance. With Catchpole, Miles and Brown grafting away, Loka and Jennings were able to carry impressively. Kodie Holloway, Jamie Orr and Timson were able to springboard deep into Dagenham territory.

A clever foray featuring Chitty and Clifford powering through from full- back left space for Câolan Watts-Adams to burst through a gap, throw a dummy, before sending the perfect pass out to the ever impressive Kye Holloway.
The fleet-footed winger needed no second invitation as he stepped on the gas leaving his marker dismayed. Blake Burns slotted the conversion to optimise the score.

With pin- point accuracy, Tom Cameron kicked off and Sinfield managed to get his hands on the ball, before a Thurrock transgression allowed Cameron to narrow the deficit.

Now Farrell made his mark on the game with a neat "chip and chase" before a period of pressure allowed the Dagenham captain to get in at the corner for an unconverted try.

This was probably the last period of cohesion in a game which became marred by innumerable stoppages.
The Rugby World Cup has been exciting and memorable, but occasionally overshadowed by interpretations of high tackles and, it became inevitable that the focus would fall on the domestic game.

It is incredibly difficult for referees without the benefit of a T M.O., dozens of camera angles and impartial assistants.

Subsequently, it is incumbent on players to work with referees to ensure that fair play prevails! Perhaps this is too much to expect in the pyretic environment of a local derby, but this did become a tetchy affair which was a little disappointing for the purists.

The consequence was a period of gamesmanship and yellow cards!
A series of penalties put Thurrock in a strong attacking position and they executed the perfect rolling maul with Ben Timson pilfering the try.

This marked Thurrock's high point in the game, with two more golden opportunities to drive over being thwarted.
Henry Bird was putting in his usual powerful shift, and suddenly Ahmed Aminu burst into action. A brilliant cross-field run saw the winger heading for the posts before being halted by what appeared to be a high tackle.
He wasn't to be denied, however, as an excellent move put Kye Holloway in for his second try.

Thurrock went into the interval with a healthy 17-8 lead, that their superiority suggested should have been much more.

Thurrock brought on Dan Ulph and Tom Wileman in the second half, but with the penalties proliferating Cook and Cameron were able to dictate field position.
Brad Retigan drove over from a scrum in front of the posts.

Dan Ulph set up an attack after a superb take from a Burns kick- off, but errors were creeping in and Thurrock were repelled continuously.
Whenever Dagenham got into "The Red Zone" they appeared more clinical. A clever grubber kick from Groom left Burns scampering back. With bodies all over the ball and player, Dagenham were given a penalty.
From the line-out, Sinfield powered over.

With desperately trying to get back on terms, former Thurrock centre Lewis Pruce thundered through a gap to seal victory, much to the delight of the supporters who had made the short journey down the A13.

Thurrock had had enough of the game, especially in the first half, to have won, but credit where it is due, they had been undone by some "street-wise" experienced campaigners on the day.

As Nelson Mandela once said:
"I never lose. I either win or learn".
Losing is not final; it represents the opportunity to try again with more knowledge than you had the first time!"

The return match should prove fascinating!