DAGENHAM 26

HARWICH AND DOVERCOURT 53

Essex One Shield

HARWICH travelled to Dagenham knowing they needed a win to keep pressure on top-of-the-table Writtle Wanderers.

It was never going to be an easy afternoon as they were up against a lively Dagenham side.

The visitors were reminded of that when the home side opened the scoring after just five minutes.

Harwich were slowly getting into the game, with their forwards earning a penalty kick inside the Dagenham 22.

Damien Smith converted, for 7-3.

Halfway through the first half, Harwich started to build confidence and move the ball wide.

This led to their first try of the afternoon, with inside centre Owen Cowley crossing the line.

Smith converted the try to put Harwich in front, 10-7.

In-form second row Kyran Green then crossed the line, with Smith missing the conversion.

Just before the break, Harwich hooker Jack Cairns forced another penalty from the home side, with captain Josh Leeks opting for a kick at posts.

Smith converted, giving the visitors some breathing space at half-time as the score was 18-7.

After a below-par first half, the Harwich players went on to raise their game. Early second-half tries from Green and Josh Jones secured the try-scoring bonus point for Harwich.

At this point, the match turned into a very open game of rugby.

Dagenham were not going to let Harwich win this one easily and responded with two tries, taking the score to 28-19.

Harwich’s substitutes then added some energy to the game with Mills senior, Josh Eldridge and Justin Webb all being introduced.

Cowley then scored his second try of the afternoon, before the tireless George Brunning crossed the line for a well-deserved try.

With Smith converting the latter, the score was now 40-19.

Full credit must go to Dagenham who were continuously looking to test Harwich and move the ball around.

The home side's persistence was rewarded with a great individual try from their winger, who outpaced the Harwich defence from his own 22 to score under the posts.

Harwich then went on to score two more tries.

Jones added his second of the afternoon and, with Smith off the field, Mills junior stepping up to kick the conversion.

The final try of the afternoon came straight from the re-start.

Brunning claimed the kick-off and moved the ball wide to man-of-the-match Cowley.

The inside-centre cut through the tiring Dagenham defence, before outpacing the chasing defence to score in the corner and complete his hat-trick.

Second-placed Harwich take on third-placed Bancroft tomorrow, with a 3pm kick-off at Low Road.