KO 3pm at Bancroft RFC

A bright and breezy day saw Chingford 2^nd’s take on Barking 3^rd’s in the Essex Merit table 2^nd XV Cup Final at Bancrofts.  The teams were very evenly matched and this made for an end to end battle with brief periods of sustained pressure by either side. One of such saw Chingford consistently repelled just short of the Barking line but eventually getting a well earned penalty in front of the posts. This was duly scored by skipper James Moore and at this point was just reward for their efforts. There followed a period of midfield jousting with Ike Onawuka and John Burnage at the forefront of every breakdown. Just before half time it was Burnage who eventually broke the Barking resolve after a sweeping move down the right and excellent interchange of numerous passes. His score wide right was excellently converted by Moore and left the score at 10 nil at the break.

The second half saw Barking do most of the attacking but great defence by the Chingford three-quarters and especially No. 8 Reece Miller maintained their lead. The whole Chingford 20 man squad was used and reused during a punishing second half but they retained their resolve until with just 10 minutes left Barking scored with their 23 stone exocet replacement prop in the corner. The conversion missed the Barking task was too difficult and Chingford played out the final minutes without incident.

“15 of the squad of 20 have seen 1^st team action this season, and this was evident in their skill levels and resolve. All in all a great victory considering their bottom position in the league and much credit must go to skipper James Moore for his overall organisation.”, said Chingford President John Garrett.