A distinctly spring-like Saturday saw Brentwood welcome Harlow to King George’s for a game that would be key in determining who may finish the season in third; Harlow the current incumbents just 4 points ahead of 4th placed Brentwood. A good crowd had gathered to enjoy some rugby in the sun, including Brentwood’s increasingly large mob of walking/hopping/limping wounded, and they were to be in for a good game…

Brentwood kicked off down the slope and had the better of the early exchanges; possession in their favour and not allowing Harlow to leave their half. Defence was already looking much more solid than in the previous game and Brentwood set the tone for the day when Harlow attempted to run the ball out of their own half but a combined effort from centres Alex Williams and Luke Watson saw the ball held up in the tackle, scrum to Brentwood on halfway.

Brentwood’s scrum was solid, Eamon Tiernan running a nice arc from 8, passing to Kieran Ballinger who found Ewan May in a bit of space which he needed no invitation to take, going through a defender and fending off another two before being tackled in the 22. The ball was out quickly, Kieran Ballinger getting it away to Tom Walker who swiftly got it on to Aston Bevans-Royston who found Alex Williams on the wraparound, drawing the man before passing to Andy Sutton who drew the last man before getting it to Jack Mayes who steamed towards the line, timing the last pass impeccably as Harlow’s cover came across, Luke Watson diving in at the corner to score an absolute stunner. I really cannot do justice to what a lovely try this was, beautiful synchrony between forwards and backs and certainly up there with one of Brentwood’s best of the season; Ewan May added the cherry on top with the touchline conversion, 7-0.

Ten scoreless minutes then elapsed in which Harlow were starting to find their rhythm, Brentwood at times having to work hard in defence which they were again rewarded for when a Jack Mayes chop tackle forced a knock on and Brentwood’s pack then earned a penalty at the scrum. Ewan May’s touch finder landed between the ten metre and the 22, Andy Sutton finding Matt Whaley at the tail before Jack Mayes took the ball on into midfield. Andy Sutton trucked it on one further before it was out to the backs, Tom Walker finding Alex Williams on a great line which saw him go tearing through the middle and deep into the 22. Brentwood were quick to recycle the ball, Kieran Ballinger flinging it wide to Jack Mayes who got it wide again to Liam Power who scooted down the wing before popping inside to Matt Whaley who was tackled just short, Jack Mayes nabbing the ball and diving over for another well finished team try. Ewan May’s conversion extended Brentwood’s lead to 14-0.

Three minutes later Brentwood had their third, again started by a big defensive set which saw Harlow’s attack sent backwards through some crunching tackles for several phases until Tom Walker spotted an opportunity to get over the ball in the ruck and win Brentwood the penalty. Another penalty in the play following the lineout gave Brentwood the chance to put the ball in the corner 5 metres out where they decided it was time for one for the purists, Andy Sutton again accurate to Matt Whaley and the forward pack setting the maul which trundled forwards before Andy broke off the side to power over for the try; 21-0 with Ewan May’s conversion.

With 15 still to go in the half, Harlow were increasingly getting their own game going and looking quite dangerous; Brentwood doing well to keep them at bay for long periods before the pressure finally told, Harlow scoring a try in the corner that they’d been forced to work hard for with about 5 minutes of the half left, 21-5 which is how the score remained at half time.

As the second half kicked off, the consensus of the regular team of touchline pundits was that Brentwood had probably left one try out there in the first half but the outlook was largely optimistic…Of course Harlow, now with the slope in their favour, were always going to come out firing and started the half strongly, scoring their second try from a maul with about ten minutes gone just after Brentwood had been reduced to 14 men after Aston Bevans-Royston saw yellow for a high tackle, 21-12.

Brentwood though managed the remainder of the sin-bin period well with some robust defence and good game management; Ewan May taking a 3-pointer which was on offer after a foray into the Harlow half to give Brentwood a bit more breathing room, 24-12.

This is Brentwood though and we do like a bit of drama so no sooner had the sin-bin period elapsed, Brentwood acquired a second yellow for Will McArthur after a Harlow break, back to 14 again! Brentwood, however, were in a determined mood in spite of the numerical disadvantage and although Harlow were throwing the proverbial sink at them, they could find no way through, a huge hit from Tom Walker followed by Eamon Tiernan latching on to the ball extinguishing their latest assault on the Brentwood 22.

An immense defensive effort followed in which Brentwood saw out the bin period unscathed and were unlucky not to add 3 to their score when a long-range penalty attempt from Ewan May just drifted wide of the uprights. It was an effort that would continue until there were less than three minutes left on the clock, Brentwood’s defensive line eventually broken when Harlow bundled over after a strong scrum had put Brentwood on the back foot, 24-19 and time to hold your breath…But Brentwood were not about to be undone now, Jack Richards getting over the ball to end Harlow’s final roll of the dice, Brentwood only needing Andy Sutton to find Dan Suttle accurately at the following lineout before Kieran Ballinger could boot the ball from the pitch for full time.

For Brentwood this was an excellent win against a well-drilled Harlow team; a real team effort with a couple of excellent and tries, resolute defence and especially impressive given the various people playing out of their preferred position. For now, they remain in 4th place, just a single point behind Harlow but with a game in hand, a top 3 finish still very much in sight.

Brentwood will now need to take this form on the road with them for their furthest away trip of the season to Holt. Holt currently sit in 10th place having won 2 from 18 games this season, but Brentwood know that this will be no easy trip having found themselves 14 points adrift just after half time in the home fixture, eventually running out 43-24 winners having had to dig deep for the victory.