Club coaches are invited to send their nominations to : alan.stobbs@essexrugby.com

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES 2005/6

RFU County Championship Plate :  Essex 26 - 9 Buckinghamshire (30/4/06)

An impressive 26  - 9 win over a very young youthful Bucks side has put Essex in pole position in Pool 1 of the RFU County Championship Plate competitions.  Despite the impressive score line Essex had to work hard for their win against Bucks who kicked off the match with a gentle breeze behind them. Though the early play was dominated by the Essex forwards, it was Bucks who opened up the scoring after eight minutes when during their first forage into the Essex half, Essex transgressions in the ruck allowed Bucks the opportunity of taking penalty shots at goal.  Though they missed the first one from 40 meters out, this only served to give Chris Sutton the Bucks full back the chance to feel his range and he calmly slotted over a second a penalty minutes later from 26 meters out to give Bucks a three point lead after ten minutes.

The Essex pack continued to play a forwards dominated game and they were eventually rewarded for their efforts halfway through the first half when prop Ben Partridge (Thurrock) broke on the blindside from a maul and unselfishly gave a try scoring pass  to his Thurrock colleague Chris Banks who grounded the ball over the Bucks line.  The try was converted by Barking's Ben Montgomery to take the score to 7 -3.

From the restart Bucks pinned Essex back in their own half and were rewarded with another penalty five minutes later easily converted by Sutton to make the score 7 – 6.  Sutton was then given a similar opportunity three minutes later after the Essex backs were adjudged to have been offside and having found his range Sutton took the score to 7 - 9 to Bucks.

If ever a wake up call was needed then this was it and Essex responded brilliantly with probably the best moves of the match as the pack moved up the centre of the pitch with some slick handling and inter passing which saw Chris Banks score his second try of the match under the posts.  The conversion by Montgomery restored the Essex lead 14 - 9.

Four minutes later Darryl Woster playing at full back for Essex scored the county's third try finishing off a move which started with a ruck on the Bucks 22 followed by some quick handling by the backs allowing Worster to cut a great angle through the Bucks defensive line and score just wide of the posts to give Montgomery an easy conversion and take the score to 21-9.   Essex saw off the remaining five minutes of the half firmly encamped in the Bucks half with promises of more to come in the second half.

Unfortunately the second half domination did not materialise.   The Essex team lost a bit of its shape with a series of injuries in the opening exchanges of the second half,  including what appeared to be a fractured ankle to stand off Wayne Treadwell.  By the 60th minute Essex had used up all their replacement players and were not helped when in the sixty third minute replacement prop Dave Stevens was yellow carded.   Bucks saw this as an opportunity to hit back and only sterling defensive work by the backs and forwards kept Bucks at bay.   With the return of Stevens to the pack in the seventy third minute Essex won an important line out just inside the Bucks half and with the ball being passed out to the backs a well timed run saw outside centre Ben Montgomery burst though the Bucks back line to score his first try of the match and take the score to 26 - 9.   He could therefore be forgiven for missing his own conversion but the job for the day had been done and Essex comfortably saw out the remaining minutes of the match without further score by either side.

Head Coach Ged White of Eton Manor said after the match "As this was the very first match in which our boys played together I thought they gelled very well." Assistant Coach " John Williams of Chingford thought that the Essex boys had performed a very workmanlike job on the opposition and though he was concerned about the injuries sustained in the match is hopeful of keeping the same side together for the duration of the Championship and next weeks vital match against Kent who were beaten 38 – 35 by East Midlands.

Essex next play Kent on Saturday 6th May at Canterbury Kick off 3pm and then take on East Midlands on the 13th May at Peterborough.