Thurrock 14 v Billericay U14 - Essex Waterfall Cup Round 1 29/9/19

Squad: Taylor, Samuel, Thomas, Harry D, Alfie, Frye, Archie, Toby G, James, Joseph, Robert, Lennon, Conor, Harry S, Charlie, Lucas, Louis

Billericay travelled to Thurrock with rain of 'biblical proportions' hammering down on the journey, thankfully for both players and spectators that passed in time for the match.
The first round of the Essex RFU Waterfall cup is always a tough assignment for the teams ranked in the lower division when lining up against the deeper squads of the bigger teams but even only three matches into the season, the Billericay U14s have shown that what we lack in depth of squad, we more than make up for in bravery and heart and a 'never give up' attitude.
Billericay started nervously and quickly let Thurrock in for a simple try, the next 15 minutes were to prove equally testing for the boys as they struggled to get decent possession and deal with the physicality and speed of some of the Thurrock lads. Despite the scoreboard starting to get away from them, they started to get a foothold into the game and a chance to express themselves and show their qualities.
The Thurrock pack was a much larger unit in overall size and weight but Billericay had the superior scrum technique and were highly impressive in their work, turning over several set pieces. This helped Billericay work themselves into some good attacking positions and they were able to register themselves an excellent team try, Thurrock stole the ball but it was immediately ripped back by Thomas, laid off to winger Charlie to dot down in the corner. Billericay's tackling constantly improved through the game after the difficult start and Thurrock knew that they had been in a game. In the end, the extra replacements which Thurrock were able to introduce helped them to keep the scoreboard going and by midway through the second half, the result was in no doubt, but this Billericay U14 team never quits, they carried on playing, trying and looking for more scoring opportunities.
Whilst the scoreboard favoured Thurrock, a huge credit goes to Billericay who were applauded off by their opponents and their supporters for their excellent spirit and attitude. We have 3 training sessions between now and the next match at Benfleet where we play the first of this seasons 'League friendlies' - lets look forward to that match and learn from all the positives today.
Well done boys, we are mightily proud of you today

Paul
U14 Team Manager