Thurrock's Under 10s welcomed Southend to Oakfield on Sunday as they looked to continue the good rugby they had been playing over the past few weeks.

With half of the team having only joined in October, it has been really enjoyable for Coaches Ian Cunningham & Ben Stanley to see how well the boys have gelled together over the past 2 months as the team continues to build.

In opponents Southend, the boys came up against what was probably the strongest side they have faced this season and the 2 games gave them some good things to work on as they move forward.

This week saw 4 absentees with Zac Goodman, George Leeks, Oliver Wall & Jack Millane unavailable though there was a first appearance of the season for new comer Chance Goss.

Mitchell Lough led the side out in the first game of the day. As is usual with our boys, it took them a game to really get going and they were on the back foot from the start. Credit to the them though, they put in some big hits and ran some really good lines to cause the visitors problems though we never really threatened the try line. Charlie Thornton was causing issues with his ball carrying as he shimmied past would be tacklers whilst Thomas Rumsby was his usual combative self, smashing into anything that moved both in defence and attack. Jack Power led the defence with his line speed as he harried after the opposition and was ably assisted by Ethan Ho, who made tackle after tackle. Joshua Weale was finding gaps in the defence as well as putting in some big hits while Charlie Timson carried well and was hitting hard in the tackle.

Rex Masaya took over the captaincy for the 2nd game which saw a massive improvement from the boys. Mitchell Lough carried well from the kick off and fed Masaya, who burst through 2 defenders and out sprinted the rest to score T's first try of the morning.

Jaxon Stanley was starting to wrestle possession back from the away side in the mauls and Sonny Campbell was dominating the rucks as he shoved Southend players out of the way with ease. Southend started to get back into the game and made a break through and looked certain to score. Ben Harper had other ideas though as he chased back and made an amazing try saving tackle. Unfortunately, Ben hit his opposite man so hard that he bounced back off the floor and managed to dive over for the score. Chance Goss also started to get involved in the game and made some terrific tackles as well as showing a turn of gas. He was unlucky not to score as he raced away, just getting tackled into touch on his way to the try line.

Ethan Ho proved a handful in defence for Southend all morning but he also showed his capability in attack. Jaxon Stanley carried into the maul and was brought to ground. The ball shot out and Ethan was on hand to pick up a loose ball before shooting through a massive gap in the defence to run half the pitch to score his first try in Thurrock colours.

Rex Masaya was awarded this weeks "Player of the week" and finished the day in style for Ts as he grabbed his 2nd try of the morning after another typical bullocking run. Rex pinballed through what seemed the whole Southend team before grounding the ball in the corner.

The boys showed massive heart to keep going today against very tough opposition. I think Southend showed the boys what can be done when the ball is moved into space rather than trying to run it from everywhere. It was great to see them adjust their game in the 2nd period and I think we saw what the boys are capable of with the tries that were scored today.

We now look forward to Bowling on Friday before our Christmas break

#oneclub