Thurrock 23, Belsize Park 22

THURROCK secured a fine victory over high -flying Belsize Park at Oakfield on Saturday.

Over the past few weeks Thurrock have put in some outstanding performances only to fade in the second half and fail to complete the victory.

This had been an emotional week for the club membership, having lost its long -standing manager, the Kevin Hymas whose life was celebrated at a well-attended funeral service the day before. However the team, sporting the horrendous socks Kevin had invested in was in no mood for weak finishes.

With Alex Jones at 10, Thurrock were up against newly promoted Belsize Park who have had such a good season at this level. Based in Regent's Park the Belsize Club is one of the oldest in the world offering rugby to a transient London population.

After a bright opening period,the game was moving to a stalemate when from a set-piece the returning Henry Bird opened up Belsize like a surgeon seeking a serious investigation at the heart of the Belsize defence! After crashing through a couple of would be tacklers Bird flew through the gap before delivering the perfect pass to right winger, Kye Holloway. Kye, whose brother Kodie had come onto the bench, lined up opposite number Oliver Lee before stepping around him to accelerate hard into the corner for a well-taken try. Dylan Fearon couldn't convert from wide out.

As so often this season, Thurrock let the opposition back into the game. Centres Cameron Roberts and Euan Miller started making headway and managed to spread-eagle the home defence before scoring close to the posts. Fly-half Jake Cutter put the Regent's Park outfit into a two point lead.

Thurrock seemed to regain their mojo with some crunching engagements and excellent charges from Jack Cowman, Rob Murphy and Dritan Loka. Dan Stone was getting plenty of the ball on the left wing and made some dangerous sorties into the opposition half.

Full back Niall Clifford was entering the line and making crucial inroads into Belsize territory.

He is beginning to be a potent weapon in Thurrock's armoury and from one foray he scored an excellent try. Fearon hit the post with the conversion.

Belsize weren't to be denied and when Joss Nunn went to "the bin" for a technical offence,the away side came back to prominence. After a series of driving mauls, with No.8 Thomas Kynge to the fore Belsize started to gain territory.

Nevertheless, Thurrock were not about to succumb and rampant skipper Charlie Russo led a vital fightback. After a series of drives where Thurrock were left frustrated and unable to produce the viral score,it was up to Niall Clifford to ignore the pleas of his team-mates whilst he ploughed over from close range.

Suddenly Belsize were stung into action and ,after some hard driving play they camped on Thurrock's line before getting back into the game with a deserved try.

Over the course of the season, Thurrock have seemed a little jaded in the second-half.

Coach Martin Jones had called for a "full eighty minute" performance and the players were determined to end this longest of weeks on a positive note. After sterling work from Dan Carey and Anthony Tankpole ,Clifford smashed over the line for his second try.

Just when it seemed as if Thurrock would pull away, Henry Bird was given a yellow card and, for a while, Thurrock were reduced to 13 players and struggling! Belsize Park took full advantage and set up a series of forward drives and,inevitably, prop Conor McGrath smashed his way over. Cutter missed the conversion.

Just as it seemed as if Thurrock were in trouble,the irrepressible Joss Nunn imposed himself on the game. Picking up a pass close to half way he powered through a couple if tacklers before setting out on a sprint for the corner. It would have taken Dina Asher-Smith to catch the "Thurrock Express" in full flight and he completed his eleventh try of the season at "the eleventh hour"!

With Thurrock now in the ascendant,the home side looked home,if not exactly dry! This Belsize team,however,have taken some big scalos this season and came back with a clinical try to take a shock lead. With the referee looking at his watch, Thurrock launched one desperate attack after another and with Loka bursting through gained some much needed territory.

Then some untidy line-out work gave Belsize one last chance. As they tried to run out of defence some powerful play by Charli Currie and Sam Reilly enabled a turn-over in midfield. Belsize committed a foul at the breakdown abd Dylan Fearon kicked the winning penalty from close range.

Belsize Park threw everything at the Oakfield outfit in a last ditch attempt to retrieve the situation. On this occasion Thurrock were not to be denied and after a scrum utility player, Rob Murphy kicked the ball off the field for a home win.

No more than Thurrock deserved from a highly entertaining and exciting game. Thurrock had said goodbye to one of its stalwarts in the best possible way.