In a week where the rain had been incessant, Brentwood headed to Southend for a festive Essex derby safe in the knowledge that it would be a muddy one! A large, merry home crowd had gathered for the occasion and Brentwood had also brought a fair amount of travelling support who were eager for a Christmas cracker. Brentwood named the same squad of 18 as had beaten Harpenden the previous week, the only reshuffle being Toby Tierney returning to start in the backrow, Matt Whaley moving to the second row and Dan Suttle switching to the bench.

Southend's kick off showed an early illustration of the difficult conditions, Brentwood leaving the low skidding kick well alone for it to go dead and heading back to the middle for the first scrum of the day. Unfortunately, they couldn't make use of the good early field position with Southend regaining possession soon after.

Southend had the better of the early exchages with some very astute kicking putting them in the right areas of the pitch. Brentwood were often forced to kick under pressure against the stiff breeze and any kick that didn't make touch was returned with interest, Southend playing the corners and conditions very well. Pinned firmly in their own 22, Brentwood were tackling well and competing hard to get the ball back with a fine last ditch tackle from Ed Hornby just keeping the hosts out in the corner after a lineout had gone astray. Brentwood took the subsequent lineout but could only exit to touch as far as the 22 and Southend were able to attack again. A penalty saw Southend kick for the corner and get the ball off the top quickly, a slight slip in midfield gave Southend half an inch which they took with no hesistation, cutting through to score the opening try of the game which was converted, 7-0 to Southend.

Brentwood responded well, winning the ball back quickly after the restart and enjoying some possession and territory in Southend's half for the first time in the game. The forwards were executing classic muddy rugby tactics - going through the phases adeptly with some notable carries from Toby Tierney especially edging Brentwood ever closer to the Southend 22. Eventually the ball was relinquished to the backs, the forwards' hard work rewarded when a neat step from Thomas Lucas Roast saw him break the Southend defence and get hauled down just short of the try line. The ball was recycled quickly, James Vogel steaming on to the pass to go over by the posts for the try. The conversion from Thomas Lucas Roast was good and put the score at 7 a piece.

Southend continued to employ the same tactics that had served them well in the opening ten minutes, kicking cleverly and forcing Brentwood to either play from deep or kick possesion back. Brentwood however defended resolutely and a Southend knock on gave them a scrum on their own ten metre line. The ball was in and out quickly to Charlie Wilkinson who had come off his wing to lurk in the midfield to great effect, beating 5 defenders and taking play up to the Southend 22. When Southend failed to roll away from the ruck, Brentwood opted for the points which were duly knocked over by Thomas Lucas Roast, 7-10 to Brentwood.

Play continued to be a battle of who could best slog it through the mud, punctuated by scrums from the inevitable handling errors, until Southend put another testing kick into space behind the Brentwood back three. The chase from Southend was good, forcing Brentwood to carry over their own line and give the 5 metre attacking scrum to the hosts. Although Brentwood managed to win the scrum penalty they could only clear to the 22 and when the resulting lineout was snaffled by Southend it gave them another attacking opportunity. Again, they took their chance, moving the ball quickly out wide one way to pull in Brentwood's defence and then switching quickly to go wide the other where they had men over to score in the corner. The tricky touchline conversion just missed, 12 - 10 to Southend.

With not long until half time, Brentwood continued to plug away and a succession of quick penalties ultimately rewarded them with a lineout around 7 metres out. The ball was well taken at the front by James Vogel and Brentwood set the maul. Initially Southend slowed progress but then Brentwood managed to get the march on, trundling towards the line. The backs were called in to assist and Brentwood piled over the line, the referee awarding the try to someone within the bundle of muddy bodies. Tijde Visser got the most pats on the back as the forwards clambered up so we'll have to assume it was him. The tough touchline conversion dropped just short, 12 - 15 to Brentwood who had for once scored the crucial try just before half time instead of conceding it.

Brentwood emerged from the changing rooms for the second half looking like creatures from the swamp, aside from Sam Kendall who despite playing the whole first 40 had managed to keep his shirt mysteriously clean...As if it wasn't wet enough the rain had now decided to make an appearance, a testing second half in store.
The breeze now in their favour, Brentwood were finding it much easier to kick for territory and with the lineout being very competitive throughout, both teams disrupting each other's ball, there was always the opportunity to regain possesion. One such steal from George Bassenger in the Southend half set up a series of enormous carries, first from Tijde Visser who was followed up by the marauding backrow. Southend could only halt the momentum illegally and with the penalty right in front of the posts Thomas Lucas Roast took the points on offer. 12 - 18 to Brentwood.

For the next 20 minutes Brentwood piled on the pressure and were dominant in the loose as the forwards continued their relentless carrying. In spite of this, they could not extend their lead on the scoreboard and there was always the feeling that if Southend were given a sniff they were more than capable of going the length of the field on the counter.
The breakthrough finally came on the 70th minute. A Brentwood penalty was kicked to touch for the lineout just outside Southend's 22. Dan Suttle, on for Matt Whaley who had put in a huge shift, rose at the front and took the ball under pressure and it was quickly into James Vogel's hands. He popped it on to Thomas Lucas Roast who took it flat to the line before timing the pass perfectly to unleash Charlie Wilkinson on a superb arc straight through Southend's midfield to go over for the try with no defender in sight and even a bit of time to showboat...an audbile sigh of relief from supporters and coaching team alike when the ball was grounded that he didn't drop it! Thomas Lucas Roast obliged with the conversion, 12 - 25 to Brentwood.

In the context of the game, the try was a hugely important score and Brentwood were visibly buoyed by it. Despite James White adding to his yellow card tally for the season with a high tackle and Brentwood being reduced to 14 for the remainder of the game, they played keep ball expertly until time was up to earn the hard fought victory.

This was probably Brentwood's best team performance of the season where no individual shone more than the brilliant team effort from 1 to 18, Southend providing a tough test and an excellent game in spite of the difficult conditions. Moreover, they will pleased to give long suffering team physio Katie a winning send off as she heads to the other side of the world on a new adventure, even if on a perfect day she'd have got one final gruesome blood injury to tend to...all at Brentwood wish her the best of luck. Brentwood will start 2020 joint with 3 other teams on 47 points but second in the table by virtue of games won.

After a week off to eat, drink and be merry they will not want the festive hangover to be too prolonged; a win at King George's on 4th January against Ruislip will be needed to not fall behind in a very competitive league.