Witham were looking the better of the 2 sides in the first exchanges. In spite of good progress, the home side could not turn it into points. Once Canvey had a run of possession they made good ground and eventually scored. Witham went back at them again but once again could not get through and Canvey managed a breakaway try to extend their lead.
Witham then exerted massive pressure. A ruck on their 22 broke down and Daz Chesson saw a gap to exploit. Unfortunately play was brought back as he went for the line. The ref had accidentally blocked off a defender but Daz had shown what he could do.
From the resultant scrum, Ryan Logue picked up and went at them. Daz collected the ball but was held up. However he managed to feed John Cox who rolled wide before cutting back inside. Unfortunately, the ref deemed that the ball had not been grounded. Obviously, John has not told anybody how hard done by he was and how he wishes we had a big screen replay system and how the ball actually hit the ground twice........
From the 5 meter scrum, Ryan Logue picked up again and this time we were awarded our try.
This period had rattled Canvey but strangely, scoring the try gave them time to regroup. They were using their bulk in the forwards to gain ground before releasing some decent backs but in general the home defence was keeping them at bay. But a couple more breakthroughs saw them gain a 24-5 lead at the break.
The second half saw a similar pattern and credit is due to all the forwards as they were constantly under pressure. Dave Sarling not only halted them but managed to rip the ball away several times. In fact, Canvey's discipline was wavering late in the game as they succumbed to the frustration of Witham not capitulating.
The key difference between the sides was that Canvey turned opportunities into points. However, Witham can take pride in the improvements made. Man of the match was Dave Sarling.