Thurrock 26, Southend Saxons 19

SEPTEMBER 11 is certainly a day for historians! As much of the World was lamenting the 20th anniversary of that desperately sad tragedy, sport brought relief with the re-appearance of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premiership and a young English woman was making her own history in New York.

Emma Raducanu, just 18 years of age was winning the US Open Women' Singles at Flushing Meadow in one of the most remarkable sporting achievements of all time. The young lady is the first "Qualifier" to win a "Grand Slam" Event, winning ten consecutive matches without losing a set and becoming the first British woman to win a major singles tournament for 44 years.

Her performance lifted our spirits as she demonstrated the resilience and composure which are the hallmarks of all those seeking success in sport.

Thurrock, too sought their own slice of history as they entertained old rivals, Southend on Saturday.

Oakfield, with its marvellous playing surface and new Academy, was looking resplendent as it bathed in early Autumn sunlight. A large crowd had gathered to watch the first serious game in 18 months. After the first Vice Presidents' lunch for some time, there was an air of anticipation as supporters made for their vantage points.

Southend are one of the world's oldest clubs, having been formed in 1870 (one year before the RFU! Southend, with a proud fixture list including Welsh giants Pontypool and Pontypridd, had been reluctant to grant fixtures to other Essex clubs until the advent of the John Player Cup.

At that stage, in the era of the legendary Billy Adams, John Phillips, Kevin Gregory and Nigel Branch, Southend were forced to enter the Essex Cup and Thurrock's first success came in 1975 with a late drop-goal and thereafter honours were fairly even as a Peter Worsfold inspired Thurrock won the 1981 encounter by 18-3.

That was the last time Thurrock had beaten their old rivals in a meaningful game (although club statistician Eddie Pugh recalls another success in the early days of the Leagues.)

So carrying a 40 year burden, Thurrock received Jac Sexton's kick-off. (Jac was one of three players whose fathers were all used to this rivalry. Jac is the son of Mark Sexton, with team-mate Harry Branch, the son of Nigel. Peter Worsfold's son is Tom and like his father was Thurrock's goal-kicker).

The early encounters saw Thurrock making real headway through the heavy-duty carrying of Dritan Loka, Mike McDonagh and Anthony Catchpole. The impressive back-row of skipper Charlie Russo, the restored Ben Timson and the " fleet-footed" Joss Nunn were giving the Oakfielders the edge in the loose. Matt Wagstaff and Stuart Whatling were prominent for Southend.

This was going to be a keenly-contested affair and Thurrock took the lead after some midfield charges with Loka and Jay Jennings showing their power. Indeed, the second rows were having a purple-patch with hooker Lawrence Brown winning key ball on the ground.

After a series of fine passing movements orchestrated by Tom Worsfold, wingers Dan Stone and Kye Holloway were just stopped short, before Worsfold kicked a penalty deep into Southend territory. The forwards were just held up and the new law enabled Sexton to clear his lines. A series of drives led to the excellent Ben Timson powering his way over the line. Tom Worsfold added the extras with a wide-angled conversion.

Now the tenacity and strength of centre Henry Bird was beginning to cause serious problems in the middle of the park and Niall Clifford, another real powerhouse, was entering the line to great effect from a variety of angles.

Dan Stone was looking lively on his return to action and centre Owen Taylor having a fine all- round game at 13. With the pack in the ascendant, coach Dave Stevens cleverly shuffled his pack and brought on Jack Cowman to add his weight to proceedings.

Director of Rugby, Martin Jones, is cognisant of the fact that back-rows win matches and the Thurrock trio are star performers. Once again a powerful set piece allowed Ben Timson to wrestle his way over the line for a well- deserved score. Tom Worsfold converted with another splendid effort.

Southend, not to be denied, started to apply some pressure of their own and, following a series of miss moves, Alfie Justice went over. Sexton converted from wide-out.

Shortly after, a fine break from Eddie Stevens almost resulted in another score from Thurrock, but the move broke down just short. The pace of Joss Nunn saved the home side time and again as he made a series of last-ditch tackles.

Stevens ,in for the injured Entertainments officer, Alex Jones, was having his best game in a Thurrock shirt and the former Swansea University student punctured the defence with a lacerating break for a maiden try. Owen Taylor, too, cut some great angles from outside centre. His powerful burst brought him his first home try much to the delight of the Oakfield faithful.

With Thurrock beginning to establish their prominence, Southend managed their comeback through a moment of controversy! As Henry Bird went into contact, he seemed to lie prostrate after a massive collision. Expecting the referee to halt proceedings,Thurrock hesitated. The door was left open for fly-half, Ben Lloyd, to seize the opportunity to drag the Seasiders back into contention.

Now the gifted and reliable Ben Stanley entered the fray as Henry Bird departed. Stanley has been a real stalwart of the club and soon showed his class with some crisp handling and some potent carries. This hugely influential man is a real asset to the club and deserved his opportunity.

With Thurrock using blindside opportunities, Niall Clifford was seeking to add to his scoring tally before a slight misjudgement during a heavy-duty contact as he sought to bludgeon his way through. Now the home team were running out of options from the bench.

Luckily the versatile, Rob Murphy, was able to move onto the wing, pushing Dan Stone into the full-back slot.

This was looking to become an epic encounter as fortunes fluctuated. Late on a penalty was reversed after retaliation from Loka who had made his presence felt throughout. With the injuries and the yellow card, this game was fluctuating by the minute. First Murphy almost got away and Tom Worsfold set up some promising attacks, but still Southend kept coming.

Murphy was scampering to and fro on the pendulum .It was left to the back row where the strength of Russo and the pace of Nunn enabled Ben Timson to go over for his second try of the day.

When Thurrock were down to 14, a magnificent rearguard action took place. Just as Southend looked like they would get level a dropped pass or cover tackle saved the day and Thurrock fully deserved to make it through. Their attitude was pure " Ils ne passeront pas." and they cleverly held on to possession to achieve a first class result.

For the neutral this had been a hugely frenetic, but exhilarating encounter, with the home side fully deserving of the victory. This had been one of the best home games for some considerable time and Thurrock had made history by securing victory over their illustrious visitors for the first time in forty years!