This week Brentwood’s tough pre-Christmas run in started with a trip away to Harlow. Having lost both previous fixtures at this venue since Harlow were promoted to the league two seasons ago, Brentwood knew they would need another accurate performance if they wanted to stay top of the league.

On the kind of cold, wet, windy miserable day that makes you question your life choices (why am I here and not on the sofa in the warm…), life choices were further questioned when Brentwood had the sort of start that made you wonder if the Holt game was a fever dream, 15 minutes gone and 12-0 down to two Harlow tries. The first came with ten minutes gone after a scrappy start had seen various unforced errors and gave Harlow the scrum put in on Brentwood’s 22, the ball going wide quickly where Harlow outstripped Brentwood for pace into the corner. The second five minutes later after a penalty had allowed Harlow to put the ball in the corner, Brentwood unable to stop the maul from surging towards the line.

Brentwood though didn’t let their heads drop and three minutes later finally fired a shot of their own, a penalty (only…) after a deliberate knock on allowing them to put the ball into Harlow’s 22. In spite of the challenging weather, Andy Sutton’s darts were accurate to George Bassenger at the tail, the ball quickly into midfield for a Jack Mayes, Eamon Tiernan combo to crash it up. Tom Walker spied that Harlow’s defence had got narrow on the right and lofted a pass out to Isaac Kibirige who went close, Harlow infringing in the tackle. With the referee blowing up for the penalty, Tauren Henwood had the wherewithal to realise that Harlow hadn’t reorganised defensively, taking the quick tap to dive over for the try, 12-5.

Brentwood were now increasingly starting to find their rhythm albeit with some errors still creeping in so when they were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, the sensible decision was taken to chip away at Harlow’s lead with three from the boot of Henry Bird, 12-8.

Brentwood’s second try followed five minutes later after a half break through the middle from Niall Clifford had seen Harlow concede another penalty which Brentwood booted towards the corner, but a strong gust pulled to just inside the 22. The tried and tested Andy Sutton to George Bassenger at the back worked well once again, Eamon Tiernan providing some ballast followed by Jack Mayes and Will McArthur before Kieran Ballinger gave Niall Clifford the perfect opportunity for a mismatch, skipping past the defender and then having the strength to bundle through the second for the try, 12-13.

Try number three followed very swiftly after, Brentwood straight back on the front foot when George Miles steamed straight down the middle of the pitch from the phase after the restart, making it past Harlow’s ten metre line before being tackled. With the cavalry arriving rapidly, the ball was recycled and quickly right where Harlow hadn’t quite realigned their defensive line, Tauren Henwood again taking advantage to swerve his way through, stepping all over the place whilst also looking like he might lose his balance at any time, beating the last man to go over. With the conversion from Henry Bird, 12-20.

This is, of course, Brentwood so just as the soggy band of long-suffering supporters started to breathe a little easier, Brentwood acquired two yellow cards in quick succession: Henry Bird first up for a high tackle and Will McArthur for a reckless clear-out and time to play with 13 men…

They’re a resilient bunch though this lot and, with their lineout ascendancy becoming clearer and clearer, another one was nicked giving Brentwood back possession from which they quickly got back down to Harlow’s 22, Harlow infringing once again to give Brentwood another kickable opportunity in front of the sticks on the stroke of half time. With two men in the bin, this one was a no brainer, Tauren Henwood taking the three points to give Brentwood a 12-23 lead.

Thirteen-man Brentwood came roaring out of the second half blocks with a restart which bounced perfectly back into the hands of the chasing Alex Roberts to immediately give Brentwood back possession. Brentwood were then patient, multiple phases allowing them to work their way ever closer to the Harlow try line before Tauren Henwood’s dancing feet again found a gap that wasn’t really there, the cute offload to Niall Clifford putting him straight under the posts for the try bonus point. Tauren also added the extra two, 12-30.

With Brentwood now back to 14, Harlow took the opportunity to add three to their score after a maul infringement, 15-30 but Brentwood responded almost instantly, Henry Bird ripping the ball in the tackle to give Brentwood it back after the restart. Brentwood again showed good patience in going through the phases and not forcing it before George Miles swatted a couple of would-be defenders away to go charging through; there was precisely zero chance he was passing, crashing over the line with a defender hanging off his back. With Tauren Henwood’s conversion, 15-37.

About ten minutes later Harlow hit back at Brentwood’s lead again, a maul and then a couple of quick, big carries in succession seeing them over the line to pull the score back to 22-37.

With the rain now torrential and the second half feeling like it was lasting forever, Brentwood conclusively sealed the victory about seven minutes later. With their dominant scrum laying the foundations, Brentwood worked their way back into Harlow’s 22 before a penalty gave them a chance to put the ball in the corner once more. The lineout had been impressive, especially considering the conditions, and again the throw to the back was accurate, a maul set before Jack Richards went tearing off, nearly getting over but scragged at the last. Andy Sutton and George Miles gave it two more bashes up before Jack Richards was in possession again, this time wriggling over for Brentwood’s sixth and with Tauren Henwood’s conversion, 22-44.

Somehow, it still wasn’t full time and so the game continued with enough time for Henry Bird to acquire a second yellow card and therefore red for a deliberate knock on which apparently only carries that sanction in the second half of games…Brentwood though dug in, a couple of further assaults on their line ended by some solid defence and a timely Jack Mayes turnover and finally, with one last lineout disruption from the mitt of George Bassenger, it was full time.

For Brentwood this was, in hindsight, an impressive win and it tells you a lot about this team that Brentwood’s merry but soggy band of loyal supporters were all grumbling at the end – we won by 22 points! Built on the foundation of excellent set piece in difficult conditions, a potential banana skin averted having gone behind early and a great team effort to pull it back and come away with another 5 points.

Next week’s visitors to King George’s are a HAC team who are breathing down Brentwood’s neck from third place in the table, just four points behind Brentwood in first. Having also been the only team to down Eton Manor so far this season, this is another big challenge which Brentwood will need to rise to if they want to stay top.