Sevenoaks 21 vs 26 G-Force

Saturday 28 Jan 2012
London 2 SE

East Grinstead travelled to Sevenoaks on a cold and windy Saturday keen to keep up the momentum in their push for promotion. 

The Gs got off to the worst possible start with Sam Levett being sent off in the first five minutes of the game. Sevenoaks buoyed on by the knowledge that they would have a one man advantage for almost the entire game kicked the resulting penalty to give the home side a 3-0 lead.

The G force quickly re grouped and for the next twenty minutes pressured the home side but good defence and the final pass not going to hand saw them unable to cross the line.  

Against the run of play Sevenoaks snaffled a loose ball and scored in the corner. Undeterred the Gs did not let their heads drop and continued to press.  A well worked line out deep in Sevenoaks territory saw the lively hooker Karl Gleave supply the finish and give Grinstead a crucial score to keep them in the game at half time.

The Grinstead coaches rang the changes at half time with a double substitution with Clarke and Weir coming on. This bold move almost instantly paid dividends as Clarke crashed over after 4 minutes to give Grinstead the lead for the first time in the game. A McKenna conversion extended the lead to 8-12. 

Oaks came back well with two well struck penalties to inch back into the lead at 14-12  The game now began to open up with the Grinstead sides fitness compensating for being a man down and they began to give Sevenoaks all sorts of problems. Lewis Gleave replaced Ashley Halsey who had put in a good shift and the Grinstead scrum continued to do more than hold its own.

The Gs were now playing confident running rugby with Downey taking a well timed pass and battering over to score from ten yards out. McKenna added the conversion giving the Gs a 14-19 lead with 20 minutes to play. Grinstead continued to play with discipline and flair and a good break from flying winger Hampson saw them launch another great attack deep in Sevenoaks territory. After several phases the muscular Weir crashed in under the posts. McKenna again made no mistake and Grinstead now lead 14-26.

In the final minutes Sevenoaks finally breached the Gs defence to score a consolation try taking the final score to 21-26.

This was a brave performance from the Gs with the whole squad digging deep to be rewarded with a good victory.

Next week (Saturday 4th February) promises to be a great day at Saint Hill with three senior teams at home followed by England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland. The G-Force kicks off at 2.30.

LONDON 2 SE RESULTS

G-Force would like to thank Darrill Stoddart from Wallpatches for some wonderful pictures.

To see all the action shots from the match and some extensive photography, visit www.wallpatches.co.uk.  Purchases can be made from any of the galleries featured from Wallpatches, special arrangements regarding individual and team portfolio's can also be discussed with Darrill.