THURROCK Firsts produced a devastating attacking display on Saturday (7 March), running in 15 tries in a 91–5 victory over Maldon at Oakfield to keep the pressure on in the race for the London and South East Counties 1 Essex title.

The hosts were out of the blocks immediately. Just two minutes in, Grant Scott opened the scoring, with Jake Barrand adding the conversion. Maldon responded quickly with a try out wide following a sustained period of pressure to close the gap to just two points, but it proved to be the visitors' only score of the afternoon as Thurrock unleashed a relentless attacking performance.

Tees' second try came through young centre Leo McCarthy, who finished off a flowing move following a strong kick return from Harry Reynolds. Barrand added his second conversion of the afternoon.

Reynolds soon got himself on the scoresheet, finishing off a sharp backs move before adding his second shortly after. From a solid lineout platform, Thurrock moved the ball across the pitch, with Scott producing a pinpoint miss-pass to Reynolds, who crossed in the corner. Barrand again converted.

McCarthy then grabbed his second of the afternoon after a neat offload from Reynolds sent him racing down the touchline.

From the restart, Thurrock struck again. A powerful run from Caolan Watts-Adams set the platform before Scott glided through a gap, chipped the advancing fullback and regathered to score what was arguably the try of the afternoon.

Barrand then added a try of his own as he powered through several defenders before sprinting clear to score in the corner.

Ts eighth try followed soon after, as a dominant scrum allowed Darryl Worster to break before offloading to Barrand, who crossed for his second of the game.

That brought an emphatic first half to a close with Thurrock leading 48–5.

The second half continued in much the same fashion. Slick handling across the backline allowed Harry Reynolds, who had switched wings with brother Joe, to cross out wide and complete his hat-trick.

The forwards soon joined the scoring when Jack Cowman finished from close range after a quick tap penalty from Worster, with Barrand converting.

Reynolds then added his fourth try of the afternoon in spectacular fashion, hacking a loose Maldon pass inside his own 22 before racing the length of the pitch to score under the posts — his seventh try in just three league games since returning to Thurrock.

Grant Scott then completed his first senior hat-trick, dancing his way through the Maldon defence before diving under the posts.

Further tries followed through Rick Percival, who broke the line following a neat pass from Alex Jones, and Barrand, who completed his own hat-trick after finishing off a sweeping move that started deep inside Thurrock's half. The full backs outstanding afternoon saw him rack up 31 personal points.

The final score of the afternoon came when a mis-thrown Maldon lineout was gathered by Watts-Adams, who drew the final defender before releasing Alex Jones to run in from 20 metres.

While it was a hugely impressive performance from the 1st XV, the only downside was the early loss of captain Kodie Holloway, who was forced off in the opening minutes with what looked to be a serious knee injury.

You can watch Thurrock's victory via this link:-

Thurrock have a weekend off before travelling to play East London on Saturday, 21 March.

Stanford-le-Hope, who didn't play at the weekend are next in action in the same division on Saturday, 21 March when they host Chingford.

Pegs suffer derby defeat

Thurrock's 2nd XV also enjoyed success as they travelled to Palmers College to face Pegasus Palmerians, producing a strong second-half display to secure a 27–15 victory.

Pegasus opened the scoring when former Thurrock youth player Connan Crowhurst forced his way over in the corner, with another former Thurrock youth product Ed Suddell adding the conversion.

Thurrock responded quickly when a penalty near the Pegasus line was taken swiftly, allowing Luke Mitchell to dive over for Ts' first try.

Two yellow cards for Thurrock stalwarts Reece Kidd and Tani Loka gave the hosts momentum, and Suddell added a penalty to give Pegasus a 10–5 lead at half-time.

However, Thurrock emerged for the second half with renewed energy. Bobby Tubby, Ben Stanley and Joss Nunn repeatedly broke the Pegasus defensive line and all three would eventually cross the whitewash.

A penalty try was also awarded — despite youngster Harry Staff grounding the ball — as Thurrock surged into an unassailable lead.

Pegasus did manage a late consolation try through Suddell with the final play of the game, but the 27–15 victory belonged to Thurrock.

It was also a memorable day for the club's development pathway, with Bobby Tubby, Mikey Burch, Harry Staff and Alex Dibble all making their senior debuts.

The game also saw the youngsters including Zac Robinson & Franklyn Broad all share the field with their former youth coach & now 2nd team coach, Wayne Tredwell in a significant moment for the Veteran Fly half whilst there was Father and son cameo with Paul Dibble running out alongside his son, Alex.

With the Colts recently crowned league champions, the emergence of several young players into senior rugby highlights a bright future for the club in black and white.

Pegs are next in action on Saturday, 21 March when they entertain Maldon seconds while Thurrock seconds' next outing is the same weekend at Chelmsford seconds.

Thames go down

Thames RFC's hopes of a title challenge in Essex Division Two are all but mathematically over after a defeat against second-placed Rochford Hundred Seconds on Saturday.

The 28-8 away loss at Magnolia Road leaves them third, four points behind Saturday's winners. Leaders Eton Manor III kept their grip on a prospective league triumph with a 19-12 win against East London.