Colchester Rugby Club beaten in thrilling match

Visitors Tring triumphed 38-34, realistically ending any chance of promotion for The Blacks.

There were few complaints from players or coaches at the outcome as the team from Hertfordshire were deserved winners in a harum-sacrum contest.

“They did their homework on us,” conceded head coach Craig Burrows.

On a dry but breezy day, Colchester were led out by scrum-half Brett Cutbush, the hugely popular Kiwi making his 200th first team appearance for the club.

Colchester were caught napping as Tring raced into a 14-point lead inside ten minutes through converted tries by Charlie Goss-Lambourne and Nick Bown.

The unlikely figure of prop James Mitchell got the hosts going with an interception, burst for the line and kick ahead.

But it was a back-three move involving Connor O’Reilly and Jimmy Mpailane which led to Colchester’s first score, Luke Rokomoce touching down for his ninth try of the season.

Crucially Tring were establishing dominance up front, leading to their third try scored by JP Keyser, converted by Ben Hogan for a 21-7 lead.

Colchester enjoyed their best period of the match shortly before half-time with two spectacular individual tries.

The first came when Mpailane got possession close to halfway.

The full-back accelerated into the Tring half, chipped ahead and regathered with only a prop in his way to the line.

Minutes later, Corey Button broke from the Colchester half, found Jacob Bodkin and the centre raced 50 metres down the wing to score.

Button missed his first kick from the tee to leave Tring 21-19 up, at the interval.

With Dan Maling on for Mitchell, Colchester went ahead through Button’s penalty early in the second half, the game breaking up and both sides exchanging scores seemingly at will, banking a try bonus point apiece.

First Ollie Beeny touched down under the posts: 22-28 to Tring.

Then Colchester captain Sam Easton’s unconverted try, after Tring conceded a penalty for off-side, got it back to a one-point game.

Back came Tring, their rolling maul leading to Joshua White’s score to make it 33-27.

With Ropati Sooalo on for George Liversidge, Dylan Read had plenty of work to do to cross for Colchester’s fifth try.

But after the open-side was sent to the bin minutes later, Tring’s number eight Ollie O’Gorman broke Colchester hearts with the winning try.

“They had the bounce of the ball today, a few little things went their way which I think could have been a 50/50 call,” said Burrows.

“The boys know where we did wrong, they’ve stuck their hands up.

“We’ve still got a lot to play for, a lot of pride to play for. We definitely want to end the season on a high.”

The sponsors’ man-of-the-match, nominated by Collier and Catchpole, went to Jimmy Mpailane, while double-centurion Brett Cutbush won the coaches’ award.

The result drops Colchester to third place in the league with three tricky-looking away games to wrap up the season, starting with a visit to promotion-certainties Westcombe Park on March 4.

Colchester: Mpailane, O’Reilly, Bodkin, Thomas, Rokomoce, Button, Cutbush; J Mitchell, Butler, McMillan, L Pickett, Easton (c), Liversidge, Read, H Pickett. Reps: Maling, Sooalo, Vunivesilevu.