Match Report Archive
Season Finale with Festival Flourish
26 Apr 2009
Sevenoaks were invited to represent Kent at the prestigious Colchester U15 festival as one of 14 teams from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. A sunny day and firm pitches suited Oaks running game and in the first 14-minute pool match they despatched a weak Harwich team 47 – 0. Ilford provided a sterner challenge but a first-half converted try was enough for a second victory by 7 – 0. The third pool game saw Sevenoaks despatch Shelford (Cambridgeshire) 14 – 0 with all the points coming in the first half. The final pool game against Westcliff was the toughest test with the game scoreless at half time. A penalty early in the second half followed by a converted try was enough the win the game 10 – 0. In wining the pool, Sevenoaks had scored 78 points and conceded none.
In the semi-final the opponents were the strongly fancied home side, Colchester who are the current Essex and Eastern Counties champions. With great vocal support from parents, replacements and squad members alike, Sevenoaks set off at a furious pace. They neutralised Colchester’s running game and scored two tries on the counter-attack as swift handling set up wing, Connor Cooper, to outpace the cover defence on long runs from within the Oaks half. One of the tries was converted by Robert Eades who was instrumental in the Oaks third try as he eluded several defenders with a mazy run and a chip ahead which rebounded of a Colchester defender into the arms of the supporting Sevenoaks flanker, Mark Grimshaw, who ran in unopposed. Eades rounded off the move with a conversion to deliver the Oaks a 19 – 0 victory made that much sweeter by seeing off a team wearing pink socks!
The Trophy final pitted the Oaks against Barking who had also reached the final by beating all comers without conceding a point, so the contest was always going to be a close one between the two best teams in the tournament. After the early exchanges, Barking moved the ball along the line and used the width of the pitch to put their very quick winger into enough space to outstrip the Oaks defence for a converted score and a half-time lead of 7 – 0. Sevenoaks responded early in the second half when the Barking loose head prop was penalised for repeated scrum infringements. Spotting that Barking had not organised their defence, the Oaks spun the ball wide and William Grist beat the cover on the outside to touch down under the posts to make the conversion a formality for Eades. This set up a tense last few minutes in which the ferocity of the contest forced one player from each side from the field through injury. In the final play of the game, Barking were attacking and won a penalty just outside the Oaks’ 22. The penalty kick drifted wide of the right hand post and the match was tied 7 – 7 which, under the tournament rules, means that the trophy is shared between Barking and Sevenoaks.