Eton Manor 1stXV continued on their latest run of victories with a solid win at home to top of the league Southend RFC. The weather for the match was cloudy with a very light westerly breeze, Southend won the toss and decided to kick first, the official for the game was level 5 Referee Will Foster from London Society.

In the early exchanges, both sides were evenly matched, but then a minor scrap for a high tackle & subsequent yellow card to Manor's second row BJ Tunde seemed to change the atmosphere and almost instantly Manors pack started to take a more dominant role. A Manor lineout just inside Southend’s 22 was taken in by Fraser Kitching and with a very well controlled driving maul heaved itself over for a fine try for back row stalwart Alex Leo, full back Lloyd Davies adding the conversion. From the restart Manors 14 players continued to control the tempo of the game, any kind of attack from Southend was quickly engulfed in Manors well-structured defence and now Manor's very powerful back line started to come more into the game. Southend’s normally organised game plan began to look a little shaky, the constant blue wall they met meant they reverted to kicking the ball deep. These kicks were food & drink to Manor’s team of three. Excellent counter attacking from Lloyd Davies & wingers Ale Minns & Lloyd Anderson got Manor's pack back onto the front foot. It wasn’t long before Full Back Lloyd Davies cut a good line, evading tackles he got to the try line and held up he deftly passed to ball to centre Conrad Edgar who untouched, ran in his 7th try of the season, Davies again added the extra 2 points.

With Manor now leading 14-0 and Southend under constant pressure, Southend were forced to make changes. Manors pack, now back to its full complement and smelling blood starting to get a little over eager at the tackle area and coughed up a couple soft penalties. Southend’s fly half Ben Lloyd manged to get his second shot over.

The whistle blew for the end of the first half with Manor comftably leading 14-3.

Manor’s half time dressing room was calm and confident, the messages from the coaching team were simple; to continue to put Southend under immense pressure and ensure we ‘win’ the next 15 minutes of the game.

With TH Prop Brad Burrell on for the injured Nik Abramishvili, Manor came out and did exactly what was asked of them. From the re start, Southend came hard at Manor, but a series of penalties & catch and drives inside Manor's red zone were completely repelled, eventually Southend spilt the ball and Fly Half George Bradley comftably cleared Manors defensive lines.

Manor's pack took control of the game again, upping the speed and tempo and forcing Southend to kick from deep. Hard running lines from Brad Burrell, captain George Cosma, BJ Tunde, Ciaran Preston & Jesse Liston were taking their toll on Southend’s defence, cracks were beginning to appear and Manor needed no second invite, they poured through! A poor kick clearance to Lloyd Davies allowed him to counterattack through Southend’s midfield, breaking tackles he off loaded again to winger Minns, who carried hard then tackled he went to ground, Manor’s back row easily cleared the tackle area allowing winger Lloyd Anderson to dance through untouched between the posts to score Manors third try of the game, Davies again converted for the extra 2 points.

The match was all Manor now, Coach Edwards emptied the bench and on came Billy Morris at 6 and Alex Taylorson at 13. Manors pack continued to control every area of the game including shoving the much bigger Southend scrum around. Another loose kick was again picked up by Lloyd Davies who cut back and ran blind linking with winger Ale Minns, beating two defenders, the energetic Minns ran in Manors 4th Try of the game and Manor had its bonus point secured. Davies missed the conversion.

With the score now standing at 25-3, Manor seemed to switch off for a moment allowing Southend to score their only try of the game, a well-executed wrap around try, Ben Lloyd converted. From the kick off, captain Cosma rallied his troops again, the Manor pack responded & went back to work.

Manor finished this game with yet another excellent score created from high field pressure, a dominant Manor scrum started the process. Picking up a loose ball, Conrad Edgar spotted a three man miss match on the blind side, the powerhouse centre needed no second invite, he easily burst through Southend’s now ragged defence and then stepping the full back he sprinted through to score his second of the game & his eighth try of the season. Davies converted for the extra 2 points.

The final whistle brought the game to an end, with Manor worthy winners 33-10.

A very proud DoR Mark Farrell said
"This Manor side has taken a while to settle, it is still developing & there is still much work to be done. This win is a testament to our whole senior men’s playing squad that turn up every Tuesday & Thursday night, numbering into the 40s & 50s that work hard, listen to their coaching team, and become better rugby players. Each player pushing for a shirt, every player contributing and sharing in the whole club’s success".

UTM