Eastern Counties Rugby Union

The Eastern Counties under 20 side endured a difficult day in terrible conditions as they fell to a 76-7 defeat to a strong and well-organised Kent side at Tunbridge Wells on Sunday.

Late call-offs and unavailabilities meant that there was little chance for the Counties squad to demonstrate their capabilities in front of the visiting London division selectors and the poor underfoot conditions played to the opposition's strengths. With ice and standing water across the whole surface it was unlikely that a regular club match would have been played, but the Kent club made strenuous efforts to get the game on – for which they are to be congratulated.

Early exchanges were fairly even with both sides struggling to claim a slippery ball, but it was Kent who opened the scoring after seven minutes. The Kent flanker, Keheli, seized upon a loose ball and broke two attempted tackles to touch down on the right hand side of the posts. An easy conversion took the lead to 7-0. Further periods of scrappy play followed, Kent’s threequarters were making yards whenever they had the ball, but a determined scramble defence and the difficult conditions kept them out. By contrast, Eastern Counties had little possession and their attempts to test the Kent back three’s ability under the high ball proved futile – the visiting side had little success with the tactic all day and rarely organised a strong-enough kick chase to pressurise the receiver. The lead was stretched with a score on the right wing after 24 minutes, converted from the touchline for 14-0 and then further increased five minutes later on the opposite flank as a large overlap allowed an easy run-in for Kent’s winger.

At 21-0, Counties still had hope and they quickly took the game to the home team. A penalty from the restart was kicked to the corner and with the lineout – a bright spot all day for the visitors – safely claimed, two further recycles of the ball saw Owen Miller drive close to the line and his Shelford clubmate, Oliver Elmsley, touch down as he found himself with only the opposing fly half to beat. Scrum half Fin Creighton converted and with 8 minutes left till half time the score stood at 21-7.

Sadly this was as good as it got for Eastern Counties. Kent scored almost immediately on the restart and then again in injury time for a 35-7 half time lead and then twice in the first six minutes of the second half to stretch the lead to 47-7.

The rest of the game was a tale of dogged defence from a tiring Counties side – the Kent pack was utterly dominant in the scrum and attempts by Eastern Counties to run what little ball they gained proved in vain – cold hands and strong tackling meant they were turned over time and again. Five further scores saw the final 76-7 scoreline without any further threats being mounted on the home team's line.

Kent are a powerful team who will do well in this season’s Jason Leonard Under 20 Championship being able to draw on players from several higher ranked clubs than are available to Eastern Counties. The Counties Under 20s will regroup at training over the next two weeks before hosting Hertfordshire at Shelford on 24 February.