With the start of the season having been delayed two weeks due to the pitches being akin to concrete, Brentwood finally began their 2026 – 2027 league campaign on a pitch that was still very much rock solid (and had claimed just the four hamstrings in training that week…) welcoming newcomers Cheshunt to King George’s in front of a good crowd.

Cheshunt are one of four new teams in Regional 2 Anglia this season and, as far as Google can tell me, the pair had never met previously in a Senior League Fixture (please don’t get in touch to tell me you played against them in 1976, take it up with Google…). Cheshunt were promoted having won Counties 1 Herts without dropping a single point, so Brentwood were hoping to bring their 18-match winning streak to an end in the season curtain raiser.

In true Brentwood fashion that endeavour started spectacularly well; offside at the kick-off, penalty the phase after the scrum which Cheshunt kicked towards the corner, one lineout and heavy maul effort later, the revived scoreboard read 0-7 in favour of Cheshunt and the Match Reporter was already reaching for the paracetamol for the stress headache that hasn’t made an appearance since April…

Fortunately, those on the pitch were less stressed and Brentwood came back straight from the restart; a good counter up the right side of the pitch when George Cubbitt and Tauren Henwood combined to put Lorcan Kellher into some space followed by a Liam Power snipe through the middle taking them to Cheshunt’s ten-metre line and gaining a penalty. The ball was put into touch, a second penalty from the following phase allowing Brentwood to put the ball into the corner 5 metres out where Andy Sutton’s lineout darts were accurate to Tom Fahy at the tail, Brentwood setting their own maul and making a couple of very dusty forward carries towards the line before Liam Power retrieved the ball and flung it wide to George Cubitt; George found Tauren Henwood in the middle of the pitch who had spied Cheshunt’s narrow defence, getting it wide to Lorcan Kellher who won the race to the corner, 5-7.

Brentwood looked a little more with it now and a neat George Cubitt 50/22 handed them back the momentum straight away with a lineout a couple of metres inside Cheshunt’s 22. This time it was away from the lineout quickly, Eamon Tiernan on a big crash line before a couple more heavy carries from George Miles and Jack Mayes, a jink from George Cubitt and another bash from Dan Suttle earned Brentwood the penalty. Brentwood elected to tap and go, Jack Mayes and James Killington carrying before the ball went to the backline, Niall Clifford carrying hard to the line before deftly popping the ball to Tauren Henwood tearing round on the loop and propelling himself over the try line, 10-7.

If Brentwood thought they were going to have an easy ride from there on in, they were very much wrong, Cheshunt pulling back into the lead less than five minutes later after a dominant scrum just outside the Brentwood 22 had given them the platform to launch their winger straight through the middle, Brentwood’s midfield clutching at air as he sailed under the posts, 10-14.

Ten or so minutes or scoreless play then elapsed largely in the middle of the field with neither team having any clear-cut opportunities to score before Cheshunt pushed down the pitch once again and got the ball wide quickly causing Brentwood issues and seeing Luke Watson take the dubious honour of Brentwood’s first yellow card of the season for a cynical penalty close to the try line. Cheshunt took no time to make their man advantage pay, pushing over the try line from the back of a 5-metre scrum, 10-21.

Brentwood though were undeterred and, if anything, ramped their defence up a notch; some big hits from Dan Suttle, Tom Fahy and Jack Mayes forcing Cheshunt into a bit of a loose kick, George Cubitt returning a bouncing one towards the corner which Cheshunt tried to run back but a combination of Andy Sutton and Niall Clifford firmly shut the door on to give Brentwood an attacking lineout.

Andy Sutton to Tom Fahy at the tail was spot on again, a small maul set before the ball went to Eamon Tiernan lingering in midfield, blasting straight through, drawing the last man before finding Tauren Henwood on his right who had the pace to beat the cover and run round under the posts to give George Cubitt an easier conversion, 17-21.

Momentum had now swung back in Brentwood’s favour and shortly afterwards Cheshunt conceded two quick yellow cards, one for a high hit and a second for the accumulation of penalties but Brentwood chose not to take the three in front of the posts, the opportunity was spurned and with that half time.

Going down the hill with a two man advantage, the touchline pundits hoped Brentwood would make the most of it and kick on and, pleasingly, the second half all started quite well…Another 50/22 gave Brentwood a good attacking platform straight away and, although that one didn’t quite work out, Liam Power put some pressure on Cheshunt’s clearing kick which landed back in touch only a couple of metres from where Brentwood had started, time for attempt two…

Attempt two was far more successful, Harry Obeney now on picking up where Andy Sutton had left off and this time finding James Killington at the tail of the lineout. The ball was off the top quickly and though the hands of Liam Power, George Cubitt and Tauren Henwood to Niall Clifford who threw a glorious pass out to Luke Watson in space on the wing and there was no stopping him, running the length of the 22 to clatter over in the corner. George Cubitt added the additional two, 24-21.

Brentwood continued in the attacking ascendency but were being undone by their own errors, several forays into Cheshunt’s 22 ending with inopportune knock-ons and forward passes and zero points and as the clock continued to wind on the familiar sense of impending stressful finish started to creep in…And sure enough, the momentum began to swing, Cheshunt wrestling back some territory and possession and Brentwood increasingly on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle. One such penalty gave Cheshunt the opportunity for a lineout deep in Brentwood’s 22 and whilst Brentwood did defend the maul, they didn’t defend the following phase particularly well, 24-26.

Now behind and with just over ten minutes left to play, Brentwood continued to concede penalties and only a couple of minutes later James Killington saw yellow for another infringement so, from a Brentwood perspective, things weren’t looking great…

The remaining 14 on the pitch though dug deep and defended a couple more Cheshunt attacks well before finally, a strong maul effort took Brentwood back into the Cheshunt half for the first time in what seemed like an eternity and some strong running in open play saw Brentwood get a penalty on the 22 nearly central to the posts. A pressure kick is never a given but up stepped Lorcan Kellher for his first attempt of the day and knocked it straight down the middle to give Brentwood a slender lead, 27-26.

Along the touchline the only question on everyone’s lips was “how long left?” but unfortunately no one had an answer other than “surely not long…” On the pitch though Brentwood pressed on and when Cheshunt made an error when trying to attack from deep were awarded a lineout just outside Cheshunt’s 22. It was off the top quickly and into midfield where Tauren Henwood glided straight through and took a couple of players to haul him down, giving Brentwood good go forward in the 22. The ball went right, Dan Suttle with a big carry followed by Alex Roberts who was stopped about a metre out, Sam Winney took it on one more before Harry Obeney picked and went, wriggling through the tackle get the ball over the line and give Brentwood a little more breathing room, 32-26.

With six points in it and still somehow time for a restart, the stress wasn’t quite over and of course, Brentwood conceded a penalty when trying to play keep ball just to really put the blood pressure through the roof. Fortunately, and somewhat inexplicably given it was on Brentwood’s ten metre line, Cheshunt tapped and went leaving themselves a bit isolated out wide where some Tom Fahy pressure on an understaffed ruck forced a knock on and with it, much to the relief of the touchline, the full-time whistle.

For Brentwood an opening day bonus point win against an unfamiliar team in Cheshunt is one none of us will be complaining about; Cheshunt look to be another good addition to the league and will likely be a tough away fixture. Whilst the performance looked rusty in parts, there were glimpses of the kind of attacking play Brentwood are capable of putting together which hopefully will only improve as the season goes on and it was especially pleasing that even when they fell behind late in the game, Brentwood still found a way to win.

Next week Brentwood head to a much more familiar foe in the shape of Woodford who kicked off their campaign with a 43-7 win over neighbours Wanstead. Last season’s away trip between the two was an ill-tempered affair in the dark, wind and rain with Woodford winning narrowly. This time around with dry conditions forecast and sunset still not until 6.30pm (so we’ll be able to see the far corner of the pitch…), Brentwood will be hoping to do better and come away with a win.

Finally, I’d like to dedicate this report to the very lovely Catherine who would never stand anywhere near me during a match, far too stressful apparently, but was always there for a full time debrief come rain, wind or shine and will be dearly missed.