Beckenham 31, Thurrock 43

JAKE Barrand became the first Thurrock player to reach a thousand points for many a year as Thurrock RFC eventually overcame a spirited Beckenham team in London One South on Saturday.

This was a great advertisement for the game as the lead changed hands four times before the Oakfield outfit finally nailed the away victory.

Thurrock kicked off with a strong wind behind them and the winter sun causing the home side considerable discomfort.

With scrum half Josh Burke calling the shots, Beckenham got off to a flying start. After a charge down, No.8 James Blackmore charged over for an early score which was converted from the touchline by fly-half Regan Tarby.

Thurrock were stung into action and Tom Pool, winning his fiftieth cap, made some impressive charges. Then, from nowhere, the irrepressible Barrand burst through on the wing. He stepped inside before brushing aside a host of would-be tacklers to register a quite magnificent score before adding the extras to draw Thurrock level.

Now with Henry Bird on the rampage the visitors regained possession. Following a long relieving kick from Niall Clifford, suddenly Barrand appeared in the middle of the field to finish off another great try which was almost a complete replica of his earlier effort.

Again, he converted his own try.

With the home side struggling to get any sort of traction, it was time for Joss Nunn to stamp his authority on the game. A tremendous turn of speed and and he accelerated through a gap to outpace the cover defence and bring a smile to the face of his mentor, Ray Davies. Barrand continued his fine form with the boot to convert from wide out.

Just when it seemed as if Beckenham's powerful scrum was beginning to haul them back into the game, the tenacity of Nunn produced another outstanding score. The flanker burst through with pace and power before demonstrating what a terrific "footballer" he is.

As the full-back came to meet him,he chipped over his head and outsprinted the cover defence for a wonderful solo try. The immaculate Barrand completed the scoring for Thurrock to lead 28-7 and register a bonus point before half-time.

Whatever the Beckenham coach said at half-time, his team was transformed. Now dominating the set piece and with the elements in their favour, Beckenham started to set the tone for the next quarter.

After a series of drives, Blackmore was driven over for Tarby to convert.

Shortly afterwards another charged down clearance led to an attacking scrum. A miss move left a gap for the blind-side winger to charge through a gap and dive over unopposed. Tarby converted.

Now Beckenham were firmly in the ascendancy. Thurrock could not get out of their own 22 and after a period of pressure the inevitable happened as Beckenham forced their way over and Tarby brought the scores level with an accurate conversion.

At this stage all momentum was with the home side and there was no surprise when Tarby dropped a goal to regain the lead.

This is when captains and coaches "earn their corn" and there is no doubt Charlie Russo and coach Martin Jones got the best out of their charges.

With 15 minutes to go, Pool made headway into the opposition half. A drive by Jack Cowman found the Thurrock pack in support and Dylan Fearon showed great strength in crashing over. Barrand hit the post with the conversion.

As Beckenham managed to gain some territory,three excellent kicks from scrum-half,Jake Bedding relieved the pressure. This was followed by a clever break from the 9 who came close to adding to the score. After immense pressure,however, tireless lock Dritan Loka scored from a real team effort.

When Barrand kicked a penalty from the next incursion into opposition territory,Thurrock had claimed all five points.

This had been a demanding away game in Kent and to come through,against the odds was testament to Thurrock's pride in their performance and great resilience. As for Tom Pool and Jake Barrand it had been a "Red letter day"!