With a resounding away win over Norwich under their belts which the errant Match Reporter was sad to miss but ever so slightly relieved to not have to write up…Brentwood scoring 59 points to Norwich’s 19 thanks to a Jack Mayes hat-trick, braces for Tom Fahy, Alex Roberts and Isaac Kibirigie and 14 points from the boot of Tauren Henwood, Brentwood returned to King George’s ready to take on Eton Manor.

Manor had won their opening two games against Rochford and Braintree scoring 50 points in each fixture and, having come up just short for the last two seasons, would be pushing for top of the table and automatic promotion this year. Last year’s fixtures were both tightly contested between the two teams, Brentwood winning away but losing at home and the first meeting for this season was to be no different.

Brentwood kicked off down the slope for an opening ten minutes which saw both teams have opportunity in the opposition 22 but defences on both sides were working hard, Isaac Kibirigie getting across for Brentwood to extinguish a Manor chance with a critical tackle, Manor competing strongly at the other end of the field to pilfer the ball back when Brentwood were looking promising.

It was Brentwood though who drew first blood when a penalty won just inside Manor’s half saw Tauren Henwood put the ball into touch just inside the 22. Louis Payne found Tom Fahy at the tail, the ball deposited swiftly into the hands of Jack Mayes who was standing at scrum half. Jack took on the rear defender, pulling him wide from the lineout before finding captain George Bassenger who had run a smart line back on the inside into the gap which has just opened up, hurdling through the attempted tackle before powering through to the try line, 5-0.

It didn’t however take long for Manor to hit back in what was a vexing one for Brentwood to concede. Having been on the attack for a period, the forwards and backs mixing it well to get from halfway down to Manor’s 22 once again, the ball was spilled forwards and Manor pounced, regathering swiftly to speed up the touchline. A good support line to another speedster on the inside left Brentwood with no one at home in the backfield and in spite of some valiant attempts to chase back, the ground couldn’t be made up, with the conversion 5-7.

Brentwood were largely in control of possession for the following ten or so minutes but Manor’s defence was strong and incursions into their 22 were few, most of the game being played between there and the halfway line and so when a penalty in front of the posts was awarded, Brentwood sensibly elected to take the 3 via the boot of Tauren Henwood, 8-7.

Three minutes later Brentwood a second try, George Bassenger nicking a Manor lineout throw on their own 22, the ball shipped swiftly into midfield where Tom Fahy crashed it up. It was wide quickly to Luke Watson who tiptoed down the wing to take play deep into Manor’s 22 before a sequence of carries from George Bassenger, Luke Watson again and Eamon Tiernan left Brentwood only inches short. Brentwood’s patience was good, a further 5 phases required at close quarters before George Miles bumped over the line. Tauren Henwood’s conversion from out wide took the score to 15-7 which is how it would remain at half time although there was one last twist before the whistle, Niall Clifford seeing yellow for an off the ball tackle.

With Brentwood down to 14 for nearly the opening ten of the first half and now playing up the hill, it was inevitable that Manor would come haring out of the half time blocks – the extra man giving their backline a bit too much room to stretch their legs. It took some committed Brentwood scrambling to keep them out on a couple of occasions, Isaac Kibirige with another try saver on the touchline but eventually from a Manor scrum on the right-hand side, Brentwood just couldn’t cover the width quickly enough, Manor scoring in the left corner to bring the score to 15-14 with the conversion.

That was to be the last score for nearly 30 minutes in which both teams were absolutely going at it in what was a very physical contest. There were opportunities for both sides, but the defences were completely committed, Luke Watson just being bundled into touch at one end before George Bassenger got across to hold one up over the line in the tackle at the other.

For Brentwood though, the missed opportunities were starting to mount up and none more so than when Manor saw two yellow cards in quick succession after the referee lost patience with the accumulation of penalties, leaving them with 13 on the pitch. Brentwood threw the kitchen sink at it but with one effort deemed held up and some more last ditch tackling from Manor, Brentwood just couldn’t breach the line, and Manor came out of the period unscathed.

With less than five minutes to go and with only one point in it, the game was still very much in the balance. Unfortunately, it was Brentwood who creaked under the pressure, a holding on penalty first allowing Manor to get back into the Brentwood half before a soft lineout infringement gave them a chance to take the lead with a kickable penalty which duly sailed straight through the posts, 15-17. Brentwood had one last roll of the dice and very nearly succeeded, a big counter ruck effort from the pack forcing a penalty just after the restart and earning Brentwood a kickable, although by no means straightforward, penalty but unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and with that full time.

For Brentwood, a frustrating day where they will rue not finishing just one of the half chances they had but also a day in which Eton Manor’s defence was as good as I think we might see in the league this season and deserves great credit. As a stressed spectator, this was an incredibly physical but enthralling game to watch and one in which Brentwood should also be able to take a number of positives from.

Next week the league takes a break (handy as there will be more than a few bruises…) before Brentwood’s October starts with a long away trip to Wymondham. Ambitious Wymondham performed well in their first Regional 2 Anglia season with a 5th place finish and have started this campaign strongly, unbeaten so far with wins over Chelmsford and Rochford at home and Braintree away. In the same fixture last season, Brentwood couldn’t catch a cold in the chilly post-Christmas match and were quite well beaten, they will need to bring their A game if they are to get back to winning ways on the road.