As the whistle went for the start of this local and most keenly contested of derby fixtures, the lashing rain, that was soon to turn the pitch to glutinous mud, seemed to go unnoticed by the large vocal partisan crowd.

Coach Richard Siggs clearly had, had words following ‘Boro’s defeat in the dying minutes the previous week, and all were clearly determined to give their all for the full eighty minutes.

It was to both sides credit that they tried to handle the slippery ball , but it was Crowborough who mastered the conditions best, with Ed Atkin providing quick ball to Chris Yates who rang the changes with well-aimed passes and clever kicks that turned the Wells defence, keeping them penned deep in their own half.

When Wells did get possession Andy Walters and Tom Nicoll in the ‘Boro midfield were quick to re-acquaint themselves with Lenin Malifa and Alex Maynard with robust tackles, so much so that the Wells pairing were unable to use the limited ball that their forwards provided.

The ‘Boro eight, completely unfazed by their opponents reputation, worked as a unit, competing for every ball, that saw possession turned over almost at will, and with only ten minutes gone a Wells prop had to leave the field. By then however, Crowborough had already demonstrated that this match was only going to finish one way, And following several tack’s the pressure became too much for the Wells side and they conceded the first try of the afternoon.

This followed a sustained attack which, had a number of pick and drive’s on the near side of the pitch, which continued as the Boro’ pack marched across the width of the pitch, well controlled by Ed Atkin, this then created the overlap. As Ed Atkin was snipping around the fringes, he could see the gap appear for himself to dive into, to get the first score of the afternoon. Chris Yates converted to bring the score to 7-0.

With 25 minutes of the match gone, a rare Tunbridge Wells RFC attack saw the line ignored in favour of a long raking kick, which was fielded by Andy Walters who fed Tom Nicoll on his left. With Matt Eyres in attendance ‘Boro moved deep into the Wells half and as the recycled ball came back to Andy Walters, he first dummied to Adam King on his outside before breaking through the one remaining defender, to cruise in over the line to take the score to 12-0. The kick fell short.

New recruit, Ben Delaney was introduced five minutes before half time with Ed Atkin moving to #15 and as Harry Sansbury, had taken a knock. As the backs reorganised themselves the ‘Boro pack took the attack into the Wells 22, setting up a driving maul that moved inexorably through the mud, towards the Wells line. The Wells pack back peddled, unable to contain the smaller but more determined ‘Boro unit, and having crossed the line it was Damien Hayes that rose from the melee to claim a well worked forwards try. Again the kick fell short taking the half time score to 17-0

With the wind behind them, the home crowd were looking for their team to add a fourth bonus point try. But incredibly, for the second time in three encounters between the sides, the replacement Wells prop had to leave the field, and with no more front row replacements available, the referee had no option but to again declare the unsatisfactory ruling of uncontested scrums, removing at a stroke a defining strength from the ‘Boro repertoire.

Although Ed Atkin, Harry Sanbury and Andy Nicoll, had promising breaks after the ruling, the scoring opportunities were few and far between, and with time running out, the opposition appeared as dejected as the dismal weather, and with heads bowed against the increasingly heavy rain, the final whistle seemed to come as a blessed relief, heralding warm showers and an end to a nightmare afternoon.

The Official in the middle, (Ian Peere) had a great game this afternoon and given the conditions and the fact that after 15 minutes of the second-half it was difficult to make out who was who !

He fully justified the journey from Hampshire – thank you.

For Crowborough the emphatic reversal of the earlier fixture was well deserved, and although there have been several season ending injuries in recent weeks, the demonstrated strength in depth should give greater confidence for the rest of the season.

The Team : 1), Richard Tasker. 2), Ben Martyn. 3), Damien Hayes. 4), Nick Hill. 5), Matt Botterman. 6), Mark Bowers. 7), Sean Derrick, (Captain). 8), Gus O’Grady. 9), Ed Atkin. 10), Chris Yates. 11), Adam King. 12), Tommy Nicoll. 13), Andy Walters. 14), Matty Eyres. 15), Harry Sansbury.
The Bench, 16), Mark Rosier. 17), Tom Kent & 18), Ben Delaney.
Match Report – By Rick Howe.