A league reshuffle meant Colchester’s unbeaten A XV had to fight for promotion one last time against local rivals Harwich & Dovercourt on Saturday afternoon.

The teams have met twice before, both times Colchester coming away with the win, however both times being a close encounter with either side leading at some point in the game. Colchester A XV are the only team to beat this strong Harwich squad, and they’d need to do it one more time to move up to Eastern Counties 1.

A large crowd gathered at Mill Road in the blazing sunshine for their last taste of rugby before the summer break. Although the ground was not at its softest, both teams and the referee agreed it was suitable to play, and the battle commenced.

Colchester A XV were first on the scoreboard as centre Jon Perry burst through the visitor’s defence before perfectly timing his offload to flanker James West who consequently dashed over the line- getting Colchester’s first try only 6 minutes into the half. The swift breeze made the conversion difficult for full back Sam Conner who just missed the uprights.

Despite the early score Harwich & Dovercourt did not make it easy for Colchester, their strong black wall of defence making it difficult for Col’s backs to punch through, this pressure forced Colchester to knock the ball on and a scrum on H&D’s 22 was called. The visiting pack were immense, dominating the majority of the scrums and Colchester were pushed back far before the ball was passed out wide to H&D’s awaiting backs. As the visitors looked to swing the ball out to their winger, Colchester captain Dave Lawrence read the pass and rushed in to intercept and bolted over the try line, this time Conner found success at the tee and put Colchester 12 points in the lead.

As the half came to an end, Harwich & Dovercourt found themselves camped in their opposition’s 22. Their pressure at the breakdown forced Colchester to concede a penalty and after considering their success so far, the visiting captain opted for a scrum. Looking to turn pressure into points Harwich & Dovercourt pushed with all their might, taking the Colchester pack with them as they went. Seeing his opportunity the H&D no.8 picked up from the base of the scrum and lunged for the try line, getting Harwich their first score of the game, the missed conversion ended the half.

Half time: Colchester A XV 12 Harwich & Dovercourt 5

The 2nd half was a real struggle for possession as both sides failed to make any real progress with the ball. Equally matched it looked as if no team would be able to break through their opposition’s defence until Harwich & Dovercourt once again found themselves with a scrum on Colchester’s 5m line. The dominance in the forward pack once again proved fruitful as they drove over for their 2nd try of the game. Their fly half slotted the ball perfectly through the posts and the scores sat level- 12 points a piece.

After being awarded a free kick for H&D early hooking in the scrum on the half way, quick thinking scrum half Matthew Parker tapped and went and rushed towards the try line, only to be stopped in his tracks by a high tackle, centimetres from the line. The consequential penalty was kicked in to touch and the forwards set ready for an important lineout. The arrow from hooker James Fisher was perfect, finding Andrew Sutcliffe at the back and dropping down into a strong maul. With the home crowd cheering them on the boys in red edged ever closer to the try line. Once again it was Dave Lawrence who went over the line, though credit has to go to the pack who got him there in the first place, Sam Conner added the extras putting Colchester back in the lead Colchester 19 H&D 12.

Despite being ahead and with not long left on the clock Colchester still continued to press the Harwich defence, however they took it a little too far, conceding a yellow card at the scrum which saw them down to 14 men for the remainder of the game. Harwich set for the next scrum knowing Colchester were ever weaker and found themselves scoring in the corner, putting them hot on Colchester’s heels, however the tricky conversion was missed and they sat only slightly behind Colchester with only 3 minutes left on the clock- Colchester 19 H&D 17.

Not wanting to sacrifice their ‘unbeaten’ reputation, Colchester fought with all their might in the dying moments of the game. The lead could have been furthered when the opportunity came for a penalty in front of the posts, and although it was missed, it usefully burnt down the time left on the clock. As Harry Smith kicked the ball into touch and the final whistle blew a mass of Colchester supporters rushed onto the pitch to congratulate their winning team.

Final Score: Colchester A XV 19 Harwich & Dovercourt 17

Thank you to Harwich & Dovercourt who put up a brilliant fight and we wish them all the luck next season.

An immense thanks must go to Richard Holland for giving up his time to coach and train the A XV alongside James Fisher, Andrew Sutcliffe and fitness help by Mark Gordon. Thanks must also go to the 4ths for creating such a depth of talent that team selections were almost impossible. We’ll see you next season in Eastern Counties 1- bring it on!