Thurrock 26, Braintree 43

THURROCK'S final pre-season fixture saw them face Braintree, last season's Counties 1 Essex champions on Saturday (23 August).

The contest promised to be a real test, and it certainly delivered in an entertaining but unusual encounter.

From the opening whistle, both teams looked sharp in attack, with the game flowing end to end. Thurrock crossed the line through Ahmed Aminu, Rick Percival, Grant Scott and Euan Thomas, with Jake Barrand adding 2 conversions and Ben Stanley another while Braintree demonstrated the quality and physicality that helped them to their title win last season.

The scoreboard kept ticking over, and after 60 minutes of fast-paced rugby, Braintree held the advantage.

Unfortunately, the game was brought to an early close with 20 minutes still to play, as a string of injuries left Braintree unable to continue.

After the game, Thurrock head coach Andy Yarrow said: "A frustrating day, it highlighted areas for improvement that we hadn't seen over pre-season so far.

"That being said, a reality check and a full two weeks of training before we open up our league campaign will be just what we need to start with a bang!

"The mission remains to gain promotion this season! I'd also like to apologise to the spectators who, like us all, were expecting 80 minutes of rugby. We had no idea Braintree RFC would decide to not play the last 20 minutes."

While Thurrock will be disappointed not to have completed the full 80 minutes, the clash provided valuable preparation and insight ahead of the new campaign.

Attention now turns to the league, where Thurrock will look to hit the ground running in Counties 1 Essex. The Men's first league game is away to Old Cooperians on Saturday, 6 September.