A chilly start and some late arrivals saw Swanley's preparations rushed which led to a tough day in the office.

From the kick off Sheppey gained the immediate advantage from a Swanley knock on. A very physical Sheppey maintained the pressure and used their 10 to keep crashing at the defensive line. Poor tackling and disorganisation in defence saw Sheppey muscle through between the posts for an easy converted try after just 11 minutes.

A motivational speech from Captain Ant Sumbler saw the Swans hit straight back out of the blocks with aggression. Swanley edged thier way back up the field from the kick off with great runs from George Oliver, Matt Card and Phil Butler. Sadly the support play seemed to be lacking in places which saw Sheppey turn the ball over several times.

A blood injury to prop Paul Stephnson saw veteran Ken Jarvis take the field as a replacement. His presence in the scrum saw Sheppey fall apart which led to a forward generated try by Stuart Tate. The conversion was missed. 5-7 to Sheppy.

The restart was collected well by fullback Matt Card who in running forward demolished and ran over an advancing Sheppey tackler, he was then brought down by a panicked Sheppey defence, some good phase play saw Swanley look more organised with huge scrummaging and ball through the hands. Matt Card then slipped the Sheppey defence running in a 40 metre try between the posts which was converted by Butler. 12 - 7 to Swanley.

The restart saw Sheppey step up and attack well, they made 30 metre's crashing through several poor tackles that were just to high to stop them. As they reached the line Swanley players finally switched on and bodies were put on the line to prevent the try, Sheppey recycled the ball and shipped it wide, an excellent try saving tackle by winger Keith Fairburn kept Sheppey from crossing the the line. Eventually the pressure overwhelmed the Swanley try line and Sheppey scored between the posts, an easy conversion followed. 12-14 to Sheppy.

The restart saw a rush Swanley attack force Sheppey into a panic, a poor kick to touch allowed Swanley to finally show what they are capable of. A great line out saw the ball off the top and delivered along the line to outside centre Phil Butler carve through several attempted tackles and score between the posts. Butler also converted. 19-14 to Swanley.

The Sheppey restart was perfectly targeted just over the 10 meter line. A knock on by Capatain Ant Sumbler saw Sheppey gain the scrum which they used to punish Swanley quickly. Good handling skills and more poor tackling saw Swanley struggle to contain the attack. Allen Mehan made several devestating tackles from behind after hunting down the ball carriers. Sheppey were awarded a penalty on the tryline which was very well defended by Swanley.

Half time 19-14 to Swanley.

For a short period of time Swanley seemed to have reorganised. Another Phil Butler converted try saw him receive some excellent ball from the the backs which he ran in with ease. Try converted. 26-14 to Swanley.

The restart saw another dropped ball from the kick off, the scrum inevitably saw the Sheppey 10 again attack with strength. Swanley struggled to contain him and a penalty was awarded. The ball was quickly taken and Sheppey scored and converted. 26-21 to Swanley.

Another good attack phase by Swanley from the kick off saw the ball shipped out to Butler, with a chip and chase over the winger and fullback he ran the ball in for an easy try. Sadly he missed the kick between the posts in a rare error. 31-21 to Swanley.

An injury to battle weary prop Phil Etridge saw him leave the field, replacement James Whitlock immediately started strong with great runs and support play.

Some more messy play from both teams made for some tough viewing from the sidelines. Sheppey had identified that George Oliver was a key player and obviously began to target him. Huge tackles and some late hits saw injuries rack up. Physio Kelly Judd was kept very busy.

Sheppey again attacked hard and more poor tackling led to another try which was unconverted try. 31-26 to Swanley.

A Stuart Tate pick and go off the back of a scrum saw him crash over the line for a well worked pack try. Butler converted. 36-26.

Sheppey again run through poor tackles and crossed the line for what looked to be an easy try. Luckily Allen Mehan spotted the easy rip and stole the ball out of the hands of the Sheppey player and kicked to touch saving Swanley embarrassment.

Sheppey continued to attack hard and force their way towards the Swanley line. Forced Swanley errors led to a Sheppey penalty which was easily taken. 36-31 to Swanley.

As the game entered the final play Sheppey kept advancing but a silly handling error by Sheppey on the 5 meter line saw Swanley collect the ball and end the game in a lucky escape.

All in all it was a very messy game. The Swans need to reorganise following their two week break that had obviously seen some of the players switch off. Poor tackles and handling errors gifted Sheppey most of their points.

Positives - Outstanding performances were had by Keith Ashburn, Phil Butler and George Oliver. The Swanley forwards scrummaging was very strong, on the rare occasion that Swanley switched on they looked the better team. Good leadership from Ant Sumbler. Finally thanks to Paul Stephenson for battling throughout despite a horrific cold.