Tunbridge Wells 12 Old Elthamians 15

A dramatic end to an enthralling game.

A try with just two minutes of normal time remaining from pocket rocket Prince Ncube saw battling Elthamians snatch a late victory at rain-soaked Tunbridge Wells and return to the top of the Counties Three Kent League table.

It was a fitting climax to an end-to-end, full blooded contest in which there was little to separate two well drilled, well organised sides throughout.

This was Elthamians’ toughest examination of their promotion credentials thus far and they held their nerve in difficult conditions to come through with their unbeaten record in tact. Just.

The heavy, rain-drenched pitch meant free-flowing attacking rugby was at a premium with clear-cut try-scoring chances few and far between as both sides struggled to keep hold of the wet ball.

Indeed the opening quarter was a scrappy, mistake-ridden affair dominated by big tackles from two miserly defences. It wasn’t until the 24th minute that Elthamians finally broke the deadlock with a try conjured out of nothing. From a scrum just inside their own half and with nothing apparently on, scrum-half Will Davies shifted the ball quickly down the narrow side. Cam Haimes coming into the line from full-back, provided the injection of pace and streaked up the touchline before passing inside to Dillon Robertson who off-loaded to Davies to sprint under the posts. Jo Leigh added the conversion.

The try sparked the home side into life and they responded immediately, working through the phases to the OEs 22 and winning a penalty which fly-half Gregory Thew converted.

Wells created their best chance of the half on 35 minutes when scrum-half Max Douch made a sniping break through midfield but was cut down by Haimes on the edge of the visitors’ 22 as he went to throw what surely what have been a try-scoring pass to his winger.

At the other end, Elthamians almost added to their tally when Ncube was tackled just short of the try-line after good interplay from his inside backs, and Leigh missed a penalty with the final play of the half as the visitors had to be content with a narrow 7-3 lead at the interval.

That lead lasted less than 10 minutes as Elthamians, with the blustery wind and slope against them in the second period, were quickly forced on to the back foot and conceded four penalties in quick succession, three of them within kicking distance. Thew duty converted two to give Wells the lead for the first time, 9-7 after 54 minutes.

With defences dominating and with the pitch now so treacherous and heavy under foot as the conditions worsened, both sides struggled to hold on to the ball long enough to build any attacking momentum. Every driving run, every kick for territory, every yard gained was a minor victory.

On the hour, Elthamians won a penalty of their own after a patient build-up of 12 phases had taken them to the edge of the home 22. Leigh stepped up to give them a narrow one-point lead heading into an edgy final quarter.
Again, however, they couldn’t hold on to their advantage. From the restart, they were penalised for holding on in the tackle and up stepped Thew to kick his fourth penalty of the afternoon.

Behind 12-10 and pinned in their own half with time running out, Elthamians needed something special to snatch the win. And it came with just two minutes of normal time remaining.

From a retreating scrum on their own 10m line, the ball was moved quickly to the centres where the ever-alert Robertson made the crucial break, bursting through the first line of defence on an arcing run before lobbing a pass over the top to Evan McDonald. The replacement centre drew the final defender before slipping a pass to Ncube and the winger beat the covering defenders and raced 20 metres down the touchline to dive over in the corner.

There was still time for late drama in injury time when OEs were reduced to 14 men after Robertson was shown a yellow card for not retreating from a tapped penalty as Wells drove deep into the visitors 22. The penalty was kicked to the corner, but the throw-in to the resulting line-out was deemed not straight and OEs ran down the clock to secure a famous victory.

SCORERS:
Tries: Davies, NCube
Con: Leigh
Pen: Leigh

Half-time: 3-7

Old Elthamians: Trew, Sweet, Wilds, O’Connell, Ryan, Cooper, Warren, Norman, Davies, Leigh, Scott, Robertson, Coppard, Ncube, Haimes. Subs: White, McDonald, Mansour.

POM: Sam Ryan