WESTCLIFF 10

BILLERICAY 14

An audacious piece of rugby from scrum-half Glenn Smith went a long way towards handing Billericay a narrow derby victory.

With the score at 0-0 early in the game, Westcliff had a scrum on the 22-metre line and were driving towards the Billericay line when the ball popped out at the back of the scrum.

Smith seized the ball ahead of Westcliff's scrum-half and sprinted down the field to open the scoring for Billericay.

The game was pretty even after this and Westcliff missed the perfect opportunity to get on the board when Ben Weller botched a penalty attempt.

But their strong forward play soon told and a ruck supplied scrum-half Simon Wells with the perfect chance to dive over to bring the scores back to 7-5.

After the teams traded missed penalties, Billericay extended their lead with a converted try from 30 yards out.

But Westcliff were not about to give in and created some excellent pressure on the Billericay line. It eventually told when Mark Wass scored the latest in a recent explosion of individual tries to make it 14-10.

Weller again missed a difficult conversion and Billericay held out until the end to register a League double over their rivals.

Crashing over - Simon Wells touches down for Westcliff's first try

Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL

Basildon force a tie

BASILDON 8

HADLEIGH 8

Basildon have their eye on second spot in London League Three after holding incumbents Hadleigh to a draw in a hard-fought game at Gardiners Close.

Local rivals Rochford have secured the League title, but Basildon could make it a south Essex one-two if they beat Eton Manor in their final match on April 8.

If they don't claim second place they will look back on this match as a lost opportunity. Although Hadleigh were a tough side, the new towners felt they could have shaded the victory.

Indeed if Matt Tilson (a knock-on) and John Hickey (fumble) had not been so unlucky, they might have stolen a late win for a Basildon side who had been under siege for much of the second half.

It was a disciplined defensive effort from Basildon, who went behind to a penalty. Tilson replied with a three-pointer of his own but Hadleigh increased their lead with an unconverted try to take an 8-3 advantage.

Hadleigh were very good at keeping the ball away from Basildon's stronger three-quarters and it looked as though they may hang on until half-time.

But speedy flanker Lloyd Williams received a pass from Scott Weeks to even up the scores and Basildon expertly repelled Hadleigh's second-half onslaught.

Southend pay the penalty

SOUTHEND 9

FINCHLEY 15

Southend had the upper hand for much of this LondonTwo match but paid the price for indiscipline and a number of penalties.

The seaside club put the visitors under constant pressure at the outset of the game but Finchley took the lead against the run of play with a three-pointer.

Southend were giving out costly penalties even at this stage but were also the beneficiaries of Finchley mistakes as Paul Bantick kicked two scores to give them a 6-3 lead.

Bantick could then have extended their lead with a try shortly afterwards but the ball just bounced away from him as he approached the try line.

After a John Pitts break pressured Finchley into committing a penalty, Bantick kicked another three-pointer to give Southend a deserved 9-3 lead.

But penalties were still being given away by the home side and they paid dearly when Finchley scored a converted try shortly before the break to take a 10-9 lead.

The second half was much the same, with indiscipline and the forwards' failure to understand the referee's interpretations of the rules hindering an otherwise solid Southend show.

When Finchley's full-back broke away for the final try late in the half, Southend were left to reflect upon a missed chance.

Derby loss for Wyverns

RAYLEIGH WYVERNS 8

SOUTHEND THIRDS 15

Rayleigh first team took an early lead but eventually slipped to defeat against their neighbours in a hard-fought friendly.

Gary Carson's drop goal set them on their way but Southend's thirds fought back strongly to take a 15-3 advantage.

Craig Stubbs scored a late try to give Wyverns late consolation for a spirited effort.

Stanford clinch the title

STANFORD-LE-HOPE 23

OLD PALMERIONS 10

Stanford-le-Hope made quick amends for last weekend's Tetley's Bitter Vase defeat as they clinched the Eastern Counties Three South title with three games to spare.

The 23 points they scored also vaulted them over the 1,000 mark for the season, while full-back Gavin Scott - the county's leading try-scorer - scored twice to take his tally to 33.

But they didn't have it all their own way as second-placed Old Palmerions put up a terrific fight and snatched an early 10-0 lead.

Normal service was resumed soon afterwards when Dave Kelway booted a penalty and Scott ran over for the first of his tries to bring Stanford to within two.

The second half then saw Stanford step up a gear and two tries from No 8 Dean Finnegan, plus an excellent individual effort from Scott sealed the points - and the title - for Stanford.

Fly-half Jamie Daisley, who bravely played for most of the game with a sprained ankle, said: "We weren't panicking when they took a half-time lead and we ground them down in the second half."

The League title is Stanford's second trophy of their 25th anniversary season after they previously landed the Essex President's Shield against Ravens.

Rochford are just champion

NEWMARKET 3

ROCHFORD HUNDRED 29

Jubilant Rochford clinched the London Three North-East title with a workmanlike performance against determined Newmarket.

Rochford started in a confident fashion following their recent performances but soon found that their opponents were made of sterner stuff than either Holt or Ely.

Although Rochford attempted to move the ball at every opportunity, a combination of a narrow pitch, excellent tackling and halts to the game due to injuries to the home side affected the flow of play.

With prop Colin Wiseman leading by example in the scrum and Ryan Stephenson dominating the line-outs, there was ample possession for the Rochford backs to enjoy. Indeed, it was from a line-out that the first score came.

From a throw-in on the Newmarket line, the ball went loose and John Payne was on hand to dive over for the try, which Andy Hawes converted.

Rochford's forwards always looked dangerous with incisive runs into the home side's territory from the likes of Payne, Bruce, McMahon and Stephenson. From further pressure Newmarket conceded a penalty which Hawes duly kicked over.

The next try was a superb effort, with some fast inter-passing between the backs setting up Ben Green.He powered down the touchline and threw an overhead, inside pass to scrum half Simon Webb, who raced under the posts to score. Once again Hawes converted to make the score 17-0 at half-time.

Newmarket struck back early in the second half with a drop goal but the game progressed without further score until the latter stages when Rochford's forward dominance began to pay dividends.

From a number of scrums on the Newmarket line, Webb scored again when he dived into the home side's scrum to ground the ball.

To make the result more reflective of Rochford's superiority winger Jamie Banks stormed over to finish off a period of pressure play with a typical try for the ever consistant Hawes to convert.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.