Thurrock 69, Chelmsford 27

IF these two teams provided the hors d'oeuvres for the upcoming feast which is the Six Nations, we are all in for a magnificent banquet of rugby!

The city of Chelmsford is famous for the fact that Guglielmo Marconi opened the world's first radio factory there in 1898.

Not quite so high- profile is the fact that the former county town boasts among its playing ranks, former England captain, Tony Bucknall and the scorer of England's greatest - ever try, Andy Hancock!

Hancock ran the length of the field against Scotland in 1962, but could only make the bench in the Essex Final against Thurrock a decade later! As exciting as that game was, it certainly didn't provide the end-to-end entertainment of this pulsating encounter that had it all.

It has to be said that, in spite of the scoreline, Chelmsford deserve full credit for their endeavours and produced some spectacular rugby of their own.

From the outset, Thurrock's own Marco, the Lens Operator, had to demonstrate his powers of ocular acuity in the bright winter sun as the players ran out like a dazzle of zebras in their almost identical hooped shirts!

Luckily referee, Ben Stewart, was able to differentiate between blue and black, the clue being in the visitors' nickname, The Blueboys!

With the imminence of the Six Nations, the talk all week had been about Louis Rees-Zammit, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and defections to France and Japan.

Thurrock were facing their own issues with fly-half Blake Burns set to join Rhys Cotter in Australia. They go with everyone's best wishes and team-mates were determined to give their colleague the best possible send off.

Burns was not to be disappointed. He and half-back partner Alex Jones started fizzing out passes to the middle of the field where relentless centres, Niall Clifford and Rob Murphy ran hard to begin the "softening-up" process.

London and South East Region 1 Anglia

It seemed like we were witnessing a coalition of cheetahs sprinting with an insatiable hunger to get on the scoreboard being unerringly controlled by deputy scoreboard operators Morris and White, standing in for the otherwise-engaged, Jason Bedding!

It didn't take long to get the apparatus rolling as the ball seemed to pass through every pair of hands before reaching Harry Reynolds. The full-back hurtled through the line with unstoppable rapidity to open the scoring.

Chelmsford had the perfect riposte as outstanding winger Jack Acorn crossed from the opposite wing to show fine outside acceleration to level the scores.

This shocked Thurrock into an immediate response with skipper, Ben Timson, Kodie Holloway and George Miles charging upfield in the vanguard of some heavy- duty carrying.

Penalties accrued and with Dan Ulph relentlessly seeking out Jay Jennings, Jamie Orr and Câolan Watts-Adams in the line- out, Thurrock marched their opponents downfield. With the pressure mounting, the evergreen Anthony Catchpole crashed over for the inevitable score.

Watts-Adams continues in a rich vein of form. His athleticism in the line-out is complemented by his predatory nature in the loose. With the abrasive back- row creating fissures Watts-Adams, has the ability to rip open the defence with a change of direction that renders him unstoppable from close range.

Equally, George Miles is having a stand-out debut season. The tight- head bolsters the scrum and his energy in fetching and carrying brought the reward he deserves with another fine try.

Blake Burns has been a real asset since his unusual reversion from hooker back to 10. His growth in confidence has meant that he chooses the right moment to back himself. A neat dummy and shimmy saw him ghost through a gap to plunge over near the posts to convert his own score with ease.

Once again, however, the City team came back with a superb try after a deft chip ahead and some fine work by Chris Aroyehun and Kenechuwku Eze. Jack Acorn, once again to the fore.

Thurrock soon shot back into action after this minor setback when a loose kick fell at the feet of Harry Reynolds. Reynolds has superb footballing skills and dribbled the awkward ball around a couple of bemused defenders before scooping up the ovoid to scuttle under the posts.

Some powerful direct running from Angus Poole and Kye Holloway gave Watts-Adams the chance to add to his tally as the whistle sounded for half- time after a thoroughly absorbing and entertaining first course.

The second period saw the introduction of the hard running Dritan Loka and the tireless Lawrence Brown. These two do much of the unseen work which is the bedrock of success, although Loka, in particular, can be ruthless in his desire to match the scoring feats of his team-mates!

The first try of the second half was testament to the team ethic engendered by the coaches as the ball seemed to pass through every pair of hands, twice!

At the end of this staggering movement was the ubiquitous Harry Reynolds displaying his usual voracity for try scoring.

Still Chelmsford came back with Full-Back Jamie Morrish demonstrating real skill and pace to pick up a couple of late tries in a cameo performance which earned his team a valuable bonus point.

Thurrock were far from finished and, after another well- orchestrated attack, Kodie Holloway broke free and, just as it seemed that the move had broken down, up popped the experienced Alex Jones to cap a fine game with a neat dummy and a typical scrum-half 's try.

With Chelmsford trying to mount a late rally, a typically robust Clifford tackle threw the attack into disarray. A loose, bouncing ball was expertly collected by Kye Holloway whose explosive pace took him a full 80 metres under the posts.

Thurrock continued to ramp up the pressure and after yet more superb transition play, the ball shot out to the remarkable Scott Chitty who sped into the corner for his maiden try as a ten.

Of course this incredibly entertaining game is recorded on YouTube, but it might be one that the Blueboys from Radio City might want to forget, although they certainly played their part in a game that was sensational for the home supporters and neutrals, but might have turned the air blue if Shaun Edwards had been the defence coach of either side!

Nevertheless, it had been a pleasure to witness some great rugby from both sides, with Thurrock getting their just desserts.

Next week with England opening their Six Nations campaign against Italy, Thurrock travel to second-placed Eton Manor for a real test of their credentials.