Chiltern thrash Chelmsford in 9 try blitz

The weather was pretty awful although the rain relented just before kick off, leaving just a gale force wind to contend with. Chiltern rightly chose to play against the wind and up the slope.

However, their late arrival left them a bit slow out of the blocks and after early pressure by Chelmsford conceded the first score, a penalty after 6 minutes, 3-0. Frankly, that was pretty much the only negative as with Joe Butler and Andy Fluker kicking into the wind superbly, Chiltern took control of the game and camped in the Chelmsford half.

Tries started to flow and several phases of play gained huge swathes of ground. A lovely pop pass from Joe Butler found big Dean MacLennan on the 22, a quick sidestep took him through the cover and over by the posts for the first try, converted by Andy Fluker. The backs and forwards were combining well and a long pass to the blindside saw Andy Fluker go over in the right hand corner for try number 2, which he converted brilliantly against the wind.

The third try followed soon after, another good running line by the backs put centre Josh Davies into space and his strong run saw him over the line; again the kick was good and after 20 minutes Chiltern were 3-21 ahead. The slope was tough to play up and a couple of good relieving kicks put Chelmsford down into Chiltern’s 22.

Throughout the game, Chiltern could not “manage” the referee’s expectations at the scrum whatever they tried. It was frustrating throughout the game as he only seemed to see Chiltern’s supposed misdemeanours. Another penalty conceded and a sniping run by the Chelmsford 9 saw a try for the hosts which was converted, 10-21.

This didn’t deter Chiltern and straight back they went; quick recycled ball found Joe Butler in space and he had the pace to score the bonus point try, again converted by Andy Fluker for 10-28 to Chiltern.

The final act of the half was the Chelmsford hooker being red carded for punching Jordan Scott. As with everything throughout the game, the punishment appeared harsh although at least this time Chiltern weren’t on the receiving end!

The second half saw Chiltern dominate possession and territory. Joe Butler’s kicking to the corners was spot on and with Chiltern controlling the breakdown and lineout, the scoring opportunities mounted. Prop Joe Winpenny was the first to cross followed by two tries from captain Tom Grammenos.

The biggest cheer of the day came when giant prop Ziana Alexis showed exquisite skill to throw an outrageous dummy to score in the shadow of the posts!

In the final minute a crunching tackle on the Chelmsford centre created loose ball which was eagerly picked up by Josh Davies who went over for his second try. Andy Fluker had kicked 3 more conversions for a game total of 19 points.

It was a very frustrating game at times but Chiltern played sensibly and laid down a big marker to the rest of the league as it’s not often that you score nearly 60 points away from home! And, Chiltern go second in the league table just two points behind the leaders.

Next week is our Sponsors Luncheon when we entertain North Walsham at Weedon Lane, kick off is at 2:15pm

Match report by Charles Owen-Conway