It was, as ever, a slightly sluggish start from Brentwood but when Holt saw an early yellow card for a tip tackle, the momentum shifted, and Brentwood did not waste time in taking advantage. From the penalty, touch was found just inside the 22 and Brentwood set about launching their attack. Eamon Tiernan carried strongly before Luke Watson made a jinking break, Tom Fahy and Calvin Close following up before Jack Mayes bundled to within 5 metres. With defenders tied up in one corner, the ball was shifted back the other way, Eamon Tiernan with another crash before it went wide through the backline to reach Luke Watson on the wing who cut back in and danced through a narrow gap for a great finish to the opening try, 0-5.

Five minutes later it was Holt who were levelling the scores. Having increasingly got their strong and pacey backs into the game, Brentwood were caught slightly napping at a penalty just inside their own half when Holt opted to tap and go instead of kick for touch. The ball went wide quickly where Brentwood’s defence was still a bit too narrow from anticipating a kick, Holt’s speedy winger rounding two tackle attempts before getting the inside ball away for the try, 5-5.

Brentwood responded well and only another 6 minutes had elapsed before they were on the score sheet again. A penalty in the 22 gave them a lineout opportunity which, whilst slightly miscued, was tidied up by Eamon Tiernan before Fraser Parris was deployed on the midfield crash. Andy Sutton provided the strong follow up carry and went close himself before good hands from debutant Jamie Wyatt, Jamie Cox and Ewan May sent a bouncing pass to Luke Watson who regathered and squeezed into the corner for his second, 5-10.

The topsy-turvy game continued as Holt then drew level once more, a defensive slip allowing them to get in behind where some neat interplay saw them over the tryline, 10-10.

Brentwood though wrestled momentum back again. Another strong break in what was a very lively first half from Luke Watson saw Brentwood get a penalty and the ball was put into touch 5 metres out. The lineout didn’t quite go to plan, but Andy Sutton tidied well, regathering for the ball to be recycled and popped one out to Jack Mayes who ricocheted over the line, Jamie Cox added extras, 10-17.

Three minutes later and crucially, just before half time (!!!), Brentwood scored their bonus point try when a loose Holt clearance kick allowed Kieran Ballinger to set Ewan May off with a broken field in front of him. Ewan did not disappoint; a mazy run from halfway slicing straight through all of Holt’s defence before drawing the last man about 7 metres from the try line and putting Eamon Tiernan in under the posts. Jamie knocked the conversion over, and Brentwood took a 10-24 lead into the break.

With a two-score lead there’s always a danger of a bit of complacency but Brentwood showed no such signs, roaring into the second half with a try in the first five minutes. A big dent in midfield made by Fraser Parris saw Holt concede another penalty and Brentwood opted for the corner again. James Killington’s lineout direction was fortunately better than his sense of…and the ball was won cleanly, the forwards opting to keep it tight for a couple of phases before Tom Fahy stepped and dived over in the gap that had opened up, 10-29.

Brentwood added their 6th just two minutes later. With the restart going out on the full from Holt, Brentwood had an attacking scrum on the halfway line from which the ball was out quickly to the backs and Ewan May wrestled his way up to the ten-metre line. The ball went blind a couple more phases before being swung back infield where Jamie Wyatt coasted through a slight dog leg in the Holt defence before drawing the last defender and getting the ball away to the supporting Tom Fahy who went over for his second of the day. Jamie’s conversion extended Brentwood’s lead to 10-36.

Whilst the scoring pace then slowed for a while, Brentwood continued to plug away and were rewarded once more from a lineout on Holt’s 22. Andy Sutton’s throw found James Killington and a brief maul was set before Jack Mayes broke from the tail. The ball was quickly recycled, Tom Fahy with a couple of steps pulling in two more defenders before a Jack Mayes with a bit of Jack Rocke assistance battered the ball up again. Spotting numbers on the blindside, Kieran Ballinger got the ball out swiftly, Tom Fahy putting Lewis Pratley in at the corner, 10-41.

With a good 15 minutes left to play, Holt weren’t about to surrender and Brentwood conceding a penalty from the restart helped their cause. A good touch finder was put right into the corner and Brentwood hadn’t even managed to consider setting their maul defence before Holt had got over the try line, the drop-kicked conversion reducing Brentwood’s lead to 17-41.

It was Brentwood though who were to have the final say in what was an impressive performance away from home. Having kept Holt in their own half for a fair period, a knock on at a lineout in the corner gave Brentwood a 5-metre scrum to attack from. Eamon Tiernan broke from the back on the blind side, getting the ball off to Keiran Ballinger who pulled close to the touchline before popping it back inside to Tom Fahy who went over for his hattrick, Jamie’s conversion extending Brentwood’s score to 17-48 which is how the score remained at fulltime.

For a Brentwood team that have often struggled on the road this season, this was perhaps an even better performance than the defeat of Woodford the week prior against a Holt team that are no slouches and, for a jet-lagged match reporter who had landed at Heathrow at 6.30am that morning, it certainly made it worth the trip!

The league now takes a week break before Brentwood host very familiar foes Thurrock at King George’s where a Brentwood win could see them leapfrog Thurrock into 5th place, bonus point permutations permitting. There has been little to separate the two teams over the last few seasons with Thurrock running out winners back in November but if Brentwood can maintain the form of the last few weeks there is no reason that they cannot make it five on the tilt.