NOTE: Colchester & Brentwoods match reports indicate that the result was 27-23 in favour of Colchester. The RFU results website indicates that the score was 28-23 in favour of Colchester. This is currently being investigated and will updated as necessary on conclusion.

In sunny conditions Colchester outpaced their Brentwood hosts in this exciting match which went right up to the wire with the visitors scoring five tries to Brentwood's four with Colchester surviving ten minutes of heavy pressure in the dying moments of the game.
This win moves Colchester up the league and bodes well for the future especially as the second team notched up over 100 points in their victory over Ipswich YM.
Playing their first games this season, the Pickett brothers, James MacCreadie, Gregor Irvine and Matt Smith all acquitted themselves well.
Skipper Calum Irvine opened the scoring shortly after the start with a deft grubber kick down the slope which he chased and grounded. Fly half David Higgins failed with the conversion attempt. Not to be outdone Brentwood soon replied with a grubber kick of their own which was grounded by centre Declan Gillette who also failed to convert bring the early score to 5-5.
Brentwood then attacked again and earned a penalty when Ollie Pickett was offside in a ruck. Gillette was successful with his kick making it 8-5.
There followed a long period of attack and counter-attack with the Colchester pack having to work hard to contain their heavy opponents. Prop Jay Hatcher worked tirelessly and No 8 MacCreadie impressed in his debut game for the club. Eventually Higgins put in an excellent long kick to the corner and, from the lineout, Colchester moved the ball to centre Irvine to claim his second try under the posts.
Shortly after the restart Brentwood were awarded a penalty by referee Jonathan De Mendorca but Gillette shaved the outside of the post. Later Colchester's No 7 Danny Whiteman gathered the ball on his own 22 line and went on a maze-like run to reach Brentwood's 22 before he was tackled but he managed to offload the ball which was quickly moved to wing James Crozier to score in the corner. With minutes to go before the interval, Colchester attacked again and the Irvines released fullback Brett Cutbush to score in the same corner. This purple patch increased the vistor's half time lead to 8-22.
After the break Brentwood rumbled down the slope putting Colchester on the back foot and got a quick score. Gerome Awusu came off the bench to add some beef to the Colchester pack but Brentwood soon scored again to bring the score closer at 18-22.
After this setback Colchester attacked and, from a lineout, the ball was moved to Whiteman who scythed through the defence to score a good try. No tries were being converted which kept the score down to 18-27.
The game started to get a bit niggly and MacCreadie was yellow carded. With a man advantage Brentwood pressed forward. A catch and drive from a lineout gained them another try in the clubhouse corner. Sensing a possible victory Brentwood forced Colchester backwards and the referee awarded several penalties against the Blacks who managed to stay firm against a relentless 10 minute battering. Lock Graham Hay was yellow carded shortly after MacCreadie rejoined the fray but Brentwood could not breach the 14 man defence.
At last replacement Ben Murphy broke the log jam, raced upfield and passed to Smith who had the good sense to boot the ball out of play to end the suspense and the game.
Steve Whiteman CRFC

Colchester face Ipswich at Mill Road next Saturday KO 15.00