With waterlogged pitches seeing the Wymondham game postponed, Brentwood’s first fixture of 2026 was a short away trip to Rochford. Brentwood had run out 30-5 winners in the home fixture earlier in the season and were hoping to get the New Year off to a winning start.

It appeared though that the festive hangover was very much still lingering for Brentwood in a poor start which saw them concede a penalty, possession and territory immediately and then get stuck defending in their own half for long stretches.

With just over ten minutes gone, Brentwood looked to have finally weathered the early storm and were starting to get into their own game (and actually into Rochford’s half…) when an attempted pass slipped out of the hands, went forwards and Rochford got a boot to it, kicking it into space behind Brentwood, regathering and going over for the try for one of those unfortunate ones that you can do little about defensively, 7-0.

Less than five minutes later Rochford added a second try when a stuttering Brentwood attack had coughed up possession. After some phases in the middle of the pitch, a probing kick was put in behind and Brentwood’s recurring Achilles heel cropped up again, the defensive clearing kick not finding touch and Brentwood immediately finding themselves under more pressure. Rochford were quick to spot that they had numbers on the other side of the pitch if they moved the ball quickly, Brentwood forced to shoot out of the defensive line to try and cover the space but Rochford taking the opportunity well to extend their lead to 12-0.

A minute later, downhill it all continued to go from a Brentwood perspective, may as well add an intercept to the litany of errors! Another Rochford try scored straight from Brentwood’s 22, 19-0, heavy sighs all round as someone remarked “this isn’t going very well is it…”

Brentwood finally dragged themselves into the contest a couple of minutes later, a monster maul from a lineout just inside their own half giving them some good forward momentum and a penalty conceded in the next phase allowing them to put the ball into touch about 8 metres out. The lineout drill was good, Andy Sutton finding George Bassenger to set another maul which was pulled down illegally, but Brentwood still managed to take the opportunity, James Stevens going round the pile of bodies on the floor to bundle over for the try, 19-5.

There were still ten minutes to go before half time in which Brentwood showed a few further signs of life but just couldn’t quite get their attack to gel, several moves that had an air of promise breaking down from unforced errors and no further points added.

The general feeling at half time was that if a couple of passes could stick, Brentwood were capable of getting back into the contest and it’s always nice when the hypothesis of the touchline pundits comes true immediately. It was Brentwood this time who were to profit from a loose kick directly after the kick off, Eamon Tiernan running it back before passing to Tauren Henwood who found a large hole to glide through straight down the middle of the pitch, Eamon Tiernan carrying his run on to be in support to take the scoring pass from Tauren. With Henry Bird’s conversion 19-12 and exactly the start to the half Brentwood needed.

Brentwood continued to battle and were starting to assert some dominance physically, especially in the scrum, a long period camped in Rochford’s 22 seeing Rochford receive a yellow card for a deliberate knock on right by the try line which arguably should have been a penalty try also. Eventually the try did come, Brentwood going back to the corner and the maul which had worked well for them earlier, the first pulled down illegally, the second seeing Jack Mayes peel off to bat away a couple of defenders and go over for the try, Rochford receiving another yellow in the process. Tauren Henwood added the conversion to level the scores at 19-19.

It took Brentwood six minutes to capitalise on their numerical advantage and, whilst not quite to the standards that have been hit earlier in the season, was probably the most fluid they had looked all game. The build up was patient, some good forward momentum gained by Jack Mayes and Tom Fahy in the loose before Luke Watson jinked and dummied to take Brentwood to within 5 metres. It was recycled through a couple of phases, Eamon Tiernan and Andy Sutton driving it forwards before the space opened up on the left, Tom Walker with the long pass to Alex Roberts who slid in at the corner to give Brentwood the lead for the first time 19-24.

Brentwood though just could not cement their lead, the unenforced errors creeping back in at crucial times and opportunities going awry. It felt quite inevitable then that when Rochford did get back into Brentwood’s half for the first time in a while they took their opportunity, some soft defence around a ruck allowing for the initial break which was then shipped quickly to the corner and well finished, Brentwood’s scrambling defence unable to cover across. With the conversion missing, it was back to a level 24-24 and about ten minutes still to play.

In the final ten Brentwood had opportunity to both win and lose the game but, in the end, time ran out and with the full-time whistle, a draw. Does anyone ever walk away from a draw satisfied? Are we scared of the dark? This is now nil from three in floodlit games this season…and for Brentwood, this one feels another disappointing result in a game where they put themselves back into a winning position after a wobbly start but couldn’t finish the job.

Next week sees the rescheduled visit of Wymondham to King George’s. Brentwood’s away trip to Wymondham was perhaps once of their best performances of the season in difficult conditions and they will be hoping to recapture some of that form to put themselves back in the top three.