Once again Stowmarket welcomed an unfamiliar name to Phoenix Park in Brentwood RFC. These two sides have not met before in league competition which made for an exciting game before a long overdue rest week for both of the senior sides.

A perfectly observed minutes silence preceded the game to mark the Remembrance weekend. After which Stowmarket took to the field looking to take a significant scalp in R2A and send a message to the rest of the teams above them.

The opening exchanges certainly saw the home side cause the visitors some problems. Despite kicking the first kick off short and having to face a mid-field scrum, Stow’s forwards immediately did what they have done so well all season and got straight on top of the Brentwood pack with a fantastic turnover scrum penalty. The next ten minutes of the game saw Stowmarket continue to apply pressure at the lineout and in open play which the away side struggled to deal with. The end result being a determined run and full stretch finish from Matt Edison to open the scoring and give Stow a deserved lead.

With the rest week in sight there was evidence of a number of tired bodies out on the field. Brentwood were quick to come back into the game and started to work the ball very well from one side of the pitch to the other, stretching the midfield defence and causing a number of gaps to start emerging out on the wings. The first try for the visitors was not far behind as they crashed over to score. Some further pressure and more intelligent play saw another score go over before half time with extras added. Half time 7-14 to the visitors.

The second half was where Stow really started to get going. With the attack processes flowing well, it was evident that work completed without the ball was going to be the deciding factor at the end of the game and what sort of result would come. Brentwood were also keen to push their first half advantage and worked hard to try and pressurise the home side once again. This time Stowmarket met the challenge and started to turn defence into attack. The new centre pairing of Scott Dunbar and Scott Woolnough began to click more and more with every passing minute and offered no way through for their opposite numbers. Jack Haward was a source of energy and drive for Stows forwards and the entire team really started to manufacture a number of scoring opportunities. Haward got his reward after some more lineout work resulted in some dominant forward carries and the try was not far behind. 12-14 midway through the second half.

Brentwood continued to press, and Stow coughed up a penalty deep in their half which their kicker obliged to make the score 12-17.
The pressure continued from the home side and a passage of play saw Stow camped in Brentwood’s half with the forwards giving a few lessons in how to make a good maul which wore out the opposing forwards. A clever low box kick from Joe Fifield was well read by Dan Garrard who claimed the bouncing ball and charged over the line at pace to touchdown for Stows third try. The score now locked at 17-17 with minutes left to play. Despite both sides having opportunities to win it, the final whistle saw the game end with the scores locked at 17-17.

Stowmarket’s next fixture is away to top of the pile Letchworth Garden City.

Director of Rugby, Ash Cook, said after the game:

‘I haven’t been involved in many draws so it’s a funny one to reflect on. Given how even the game was and the number of chances both sides had to win the game, I am certainly happier than anything else with this result.

We continue to prove our ability and talent, with a huge amount of our gameplay doing enough to get us into the areas we want to be in and converting our chances. We know that every point accumulated this season will be absolutely vital come the end of the season so to take two points away from a team playing in the league above us last season at home is a great way for us to wrap up for a well-earned rest weekend.

Finally, I must congratulate a number of players, including man of the match Luke Gwilliam-Bridges, who stepped up from our 2nd XV today. They were fantastic and showed how much depth we have. Im going to have some tough selections to make in the coming weeks which is a nice problem to have.’