Forrester Grabs The Winner For CSS
Rugby Result : CS Stags 22 Chingford 17
In a contest blighted by the conditions CS Stags maintained their impressive
100% January winning record.
The match was played in sporadic driving rain and a swirling wind, which
made the forwards battle key and so it proved, when, from a line out deep
into the second half, It was the Stags’ forwards who drove over; a critical
score as ultimately there was merely 5 points separating the teams.
The match kicked off with an early downpour. After early pressure and
a line out CS took the lead via a Tom Hodgson penalty. Both teams were
still struggling to influence the game until centre Ryan Martin charged
down a Chingford attempted clearance and won the race to touch down which
Hodgson converted 10 – 0. Instead of CS kicking on Chingford worked themselves
into the match when their pressure in mid field developed into a well-supported
break from half way 10 – 7.
After CS stole the ball at a ruck Tom Hodgson made an incisive break from near the line to score 17 – 7 which was the half time score, but with CS due to face the wind in second half. As expected, CS had a lot of defending to deal with. That pressure told and the first second half score was a Chingford penalty 17 – 10 and when the Chingford forwards drove through the heart of the CS defence the game was finely balanced 17 – 17. CS worked into a position to attack from a line out. The ball was cleanly taken, and the forwards then drove over the Chingford line with hooker Josh Forrester at the rear with the ball to score. 22 – 17. The CS forwards retained the ball for the final moments of the match to ensure that CS bagged the season double over Chingford and their fourth win in January, albeit with not such an attractive display as they often produce.
There is a gap this weekend for internationals. The next match is therefore 9th February away to Dorking. CS will be looking for revenge to the defeat earlier in the season at Dukes Meadows that should have been a win Dorking will be after a win to take them above CS in the table.
February 2, 2019