BRAINTREE RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 2016/17 SEASON.
Any copy queries to BRUFC Publicity Officer John Troup on 07860-179347.
Report by J Troup and D Gilder

BRAINTREE...48 CLACTON...12 (Canterbury Jack Essex 1B)

ALL CONQUERING Braintree kicked off 2017 in typically dominant fashion with a convincing victory over their nearest rivals.
Visitors Clacton had been unbeaten since they lost the reverse fixture at home to the Black and ambers on October 29.
But their winning streak came to an end against a Braintree outfit which showed no signs of any hangover from the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Tree went om the offensive straight from kick-off and the first scrum of the day saw the Clacton loose-head fold under strong pressure from Jamie Prince.
Quick ball from the resultant penalty was fed out through the hands by the backs to enable full-back Tom Drew to score out wide after just three minutes. 5-0.
Drew’s try was quickly followed by another as blind-side flanker Dylan Moss crashed over with the support of his fellow forwards after a catch and drive move from a line-out. 10-0.
But Clacton then started to find some rhythm and play ebbed back and forth until the 21st minute when Tree turned the screw again.
A shortened line-out saw Tree win good clean ball off the top and captain John Smillie, free of jumping duties, cut a great line on the inside of fly-half Joss Adams to crash through.
Craig Willis’ conversion put Tree 17-0 to the good but they continued to pile forward and heap pressure on the Clacton defensive line.
On 35 minutes a poor defensive kick by the visitors allowed winger Henry James to run the ball back before slipping a pass to outside centre James Abbott.
He showed great hands to get the ball away out of contact to winger James Moore who arrived in support at pace to score out wide. 22-0.
Abbott then scored himself straight from the re-start after slicing through Clacton’s rearguard with a great solo run, Willis kicking the extra points. 29-0.
Tree’s two last tries had come despite them having only 14 men on the field following a yellow-carding.
And just before the break Clacton did manage to profit from the extra man when their number 8 scored from a pick up from the base of a five-metre scrum. 29-5.
After the break Tree started just as quickly as they had in the first half with Drew grabbing his second try of the game out wide after a very strong ball carry by Prince. 34-5.
To their credit Clacton played themselves into the game, gaining some parity in the scrums as play descended into a stalemate.
But on 69 minutes a feint one way and a step the other saw the space open up for Willis to score an excellent individual try before kicking his own conversion. 41-5.
As the clock ran down Abbott added his scored try of the game after another strong jinking run, with Willis notching his fourth conversion. 48-5.
But there was still time for Clacton to score a consolation, albeit a very fortuitous one, following a wild kick through at a breakdown.
The visitors won the foot race to touch down and finish with a try under the posts which they converted to make the final score 48-12.
BRUFC Chair of Selectors David Gilder said: “We looked far more organised and likely to win even from the warm-up.
“The senior players gelled well with the youngsters who have come up through the academy to put in another solid performance.
“We now have two more consecutive home games to wrap up the first half of league action before merging with the top four sides from Essex 1A when we expected some tough tests.”
BRUFC Joint Coach Brian Joslin added: “I believe Clacton were missing some key players but we were still expecting a tough game and they got better as the game wore on.
“But credit to us for scoring eight tries. We started fast, which is unlike us, and we kept the tempo up for 80 minutes, which was very pleasing considering the Christmas break.”
In the forwards Jamie Prince, Wes Apps & Dylan Moss all had strong games, as did Craig Willis, Tom Drew and Henry Williams in the backs.
“All in all this was a great team performance with lots of positives but there is still a lot of rugby to be played this season and a lot work to be done to achieve our goal of promotion.”
Tree are back in Essex 1B action this coming Saturday when they entertain Writtle Wanderers at Robbs Wood, kick-off 2pm.
BRUFC: Drew, J Moore, Abbott, Willis, Williams, Adams, Martindale, Perry (Mlambo), Coote (W Turner), Prince, Apps, M Turner, Moss (Carslake), Benfield, Smillie.