Match Report this week is by the ever present Rick Howe.
Sadly - No photo's this week hence the squad photo from the Bromley Game.....Just in case you wondered !

Papa Johns Community Cup......Round 2.

This match was preceded by a line up of both teams, and a minutes applause in memory of Crowborough’s Dave “The Judge “ Pass who sadly passed away last week.

Crowborough cruised into the quarter finals of the Papa Johns Community Shield with a comfortable win over Reading Abbey RFC last Saturday.
Four weeks on since the end of the League campaign, which ‘Boro ended with their sixth consecutive bonus point win to finish in 9th place and giving themselves the best opportunity to survive the drop, Crowborough travelled the two hours to Reading for the second round of the above cup, having been granted a Bye in the first round.
The visitors could have been forgiven for making a sluggish start after such a layoff, but that was not to be. In fact it was case of déjà vu, as the pack continued their imperious form, dominating the set piece scrums driving the larger home unit backwards; winning more than their fair share of the 50/50 balls; and soring high to win lineout possession.
However ‘Boro were not to have it all their own way, as Abbey would use what ball they were able to secure to attack across the width of the pitch, putting the defence to the test which generally remained solid, with Harry Slatter in particular putting in copious tackles from his second row berth, to rival those of his back row colleagues.
With just five minutes gone, and both sides feeling out each other’s strengths and weaknesses, from a scrum on the Abbey 10 metre line, Ollie Clinch shipped a pass to Rob Lester at #10 who straightened the line preventing the drift defence. Andy Kidd came off his right wing to take the offload, and drew the attention of the inside centre by holding onto the ball for a fraction before releasing captain Alex Purnell to burst through the gap to splash over the line. The kick was missed 0-5.
For reasons best known to the rugby gods, ‘Boro seemed to draw the ire of the official, who awarded several consecutive penalties to the home side for holding onto the ball almost before the carrier had hit the ground. This enabled the home side to travel up the field and when yet another penalty was conceded ten metres out from the line, a quick tap, as ‘Boro were retreating, was all that was needed to level the score. 5-5
Deciding that playing in the opposition half would best mitigate the penalty decisions, ‘Boro engineered a fine score out on the right, following a scrum where the ever present Dave Bennett broke right off the back of the scrum on the Reading 10 metre line to put Tom Boddy in the clear. As he cruised into the home side 22, he drew the cover and released Andy Kidd towards the line, who in the act of scoring, tore his quad muscle bringing his participation in the match to an end. In what was to be a Spartan weekend for Ollie Clinch the kick was pulled 5-10.
With Colt, Elliot Rensch replacing Andy Kidd for his debut, ‘Boro were back to 15, needing another score to settle the side. This came when the pack drove a scrum on the half way line fully ten metres, and with the defence on the back foot Ollie Clinch released the backs who took the ball into the red zone before being held up. As the pack arrived a series of pick and drives led by Will Creasey and Mark Rosier , was finished by Callum Main pirouetting over the line for the score, which went unconverted. 5-15.
Reading Abbey kept the score tight with a penalty 8-15 followed by a yellow card shown to Rob Lester for a high tackle ,but was mitigated as he was “being passive in the tackle” with the red card remaining in the officials’ pocket..
With ‘Boro down to 14 men, they were swiftly punished by a Reading Abbey try, when the reorganised back division failed to cover a gap allowing the left wing to cut inside to score in the corner. 13-15. A rare conversion saw the scores tied at 15-15 .HT
A further penalty saw the home side creep ahead before Crowborough engineered a well taken try when Dave Bennett broke right committing two defenders before passing to the fast arriving Alex Purnell who once more scored in Ashtonesque style for an Ollie Clinch converted try. 15-22
This became a nine point game moments later when, following what appeared to be a penalty awarded to ‘Boro 5 metres out after a maul had been collapsed, was reversed allowing the line to be cleared.
Josh Radford, who has been growing in stature and confidence in the #15 berth for the past several weeks latched onto a Dave Bennett offload on the Abbey 22, and drove towards the line, but seeing the cover arriving at speed he found support in the form of the fast arriving Elliot Rensch who gratefully accepted the opportunity to score on his debut sprinting the remaining 1 metre to touch down! In what was becoming a theme for both sides the kick was pulled 15-27
With just minutes of the encounter left, the pack led by Dave Bennett once more drove deep into the Abbey 22, and following several pick and drives that kept the home defence necessarily narrow, Josh Radford was on hand to take the final pass to round off a good day at the office and bring the encounter to a satisfactory conclusion for the visitors, who now enter the quarter final draw to be played Saturday 22nd April. The Final Score up at Reading Abbey RFC was 15 -32 to Crowborough.
Man of the Match was Ollie Clinch, nominated by the opposition, But the pack controlled a lot of what went on during the afternoon and Dave Bennett should also take a lot of credit for his performance.