Cranbrook managed to achieve a win against bottom placed Aylesford without being especially convincing as another makeshift XV at times struggled against spirited but limited opposition.
On a dry but cloudy afternoon with little wind the conditions were tricky as there had been a substantial amount of rain through the night and morning, though the pitch, although slippery, stood up well.
Cranbrook scored early as loose Aylesford ball was kicked through. In the confusion it appeared a visiting player fly hacked the ball into his own man from where it rebounded over the try line and the alert scrum half George Robertson, following up, was able to dive on the ball to open the scoring.
Aylesford clearly wanted to play by getting the ball wide to some speedy outside backs but were not always accurate enough with passing and so did not look particularly dangerous against secure midfield tackling. They were also looking dominant at scrum time early on, hooker Jack Posey suffered a leg injury and had to be replaced. Flanker Mark Chandler went to hooker with the evergreen Chris Tomlin coming on at No8, he went on to have a very good game, reading the game well to be in good position around the fringes and helping shore up the scrum as well as throwing in at the lineout.
After a promising move left which made ground, at the base of the ruck Tom Humphries picked up and with no defensive cover in place was able to run in from about 25 metres for the second try after 25 minutes converted by Alex Cornwallis.
Cranbrook were now beginning to look good, and Theo Rimmer was put free on the right with a pass that was adjudged forward, one of a number of such calls by the referee which otherwise seemed fair enough as the slippery ball made passing accurately unduly difficult.
Cranbrook continued to press but conceded when a move right was well intercepted for a converted score This seemed to pep up Aylesford and lock Louis Stone was carded for a hand in the ruck. When the attacking visitors chipped through towards the try line Theo Rimmer running back collected and returned to a good touch with his left foot. From the lineout Aylesford were penalised for not straight and as play developed wing Elliot Barbour was heading towards the corner until felled by a high tackle by his opposite number who was carded. Double jeopardy ensued as the ref awarded the penalty try for a deserved half time lead of 19-7 which with better execution could have been more.
Against 14 men Cranbrook continued to attack as a nice move ended with a pass into touch, but a few minutes later Robertson was able to pick up from the base of a ruck near the try line to scamper over in trademark style for a bonus point try and probable match winning score at 26-7.
Aylesford though were not giving up and shaded scrums and lineouts, though curiously did not compete at some home lineouts.
After 25 minutes replacement hooker Chandler was carded for a high tackle and soon Fabian Rimmer was struggling with cramp, as Aylesford were now the better side and Cranbrook were beginning to get on the wrong side of the referee for some unnecessary back chat. When they scored in the corner after taking a scrum as a penalty putting the winger free, Cornford was carded again for words uttered and Cranbrook were briefly reduced to 13 men until Chandler came back on. The kick off from the injured Rimmer was so sweetly struck that it sailed somewhat comically well into touch. There was still time for Tom Humphries to be carded for a deliberate knock on as the game and the season drifted to an unsatisfying conclusion.
So ended what in many ways has been a very promising first season at this level with a predominantly young side. In what is likely to be a stronger league next season there are issues to address particularly around fitness and conditioning, and discipline, if Cranbrook are to be stable at this level. It was difficult with the late start, then early snow and frozen pitches, that matches have come in two clusters rather than with regular break weekends. The injury count has therefore been very high and sadly Cranbrook have decided, like many clubs, to withdraw from the new national knock out cup which is to conclude the season.
Fabian Rimmer was top points scorer whilst he was equal with 3 other players on 8 tries, namely Henry Toomer, Josh Curtis, and Theo Rimmer.
Match report courtesy of Philip Rimmer.