The final home match of 2019

The ladies’ team – Gravesend Gremlins – had enjoyed a festive pre-match lunch and were out on the terrace supporting their male counterparts for the afternoon.
Whilst the first scrum went Maidstone’s way, it was immediately followed by a knock on and turnover ball to Gravesend. A successful scrum drive saw Zac Lewis cross for Gravesend’s first try and lead the match 5-0 after just a few minutes.
Some poor tackling enabled Maidstone to equalise shortly after but Gary Gray made sure they got out in front again within moments. Gravesend’s strong scrum saw them with the upper hand for a large proportion of the match and a run up the pitch meant Chris Brady could run in for the third try, with the conversion, to see Gravesend lead 17-5.
Gravesend enjoyed much of the possession and some solid set pieces saw them hold on to the ball and extend their lead through Mark Kelly. The conversion attempt bounced off the post and Gravesend went into half time with a 22-5 lead.
With Maidstone’s kick off to restart the half not making it over the 10 metre line, Gravesend took the scrum and a break away run showed that nothing much had changed during the break. Matt Bruce crossed the whitewash to make it 29-5 and Gravesend continued their dominant passage of play.
Maidstone were not giving up, however, and went on the attack but their attempt was deemed to be held up by the referee. Maidstone still had a lot of the possession and it was unfortunate for them that they gave away a penalty when they had seemed to find a burst of energy from somewhere. Instead, it was Matt Brady who scored at the other end of the pitch with Gray adding the extras to make it 36-5. The score-line might not have suggested it, but the play in the middle of the pitch was a fairly even competition at this stage.
A final period of pressure from Gravesend allowed Chris Brady to cross for his second of the afternoon and the final score was a comprehensive victory to Gravesend, 41-5.
The First XV would like to express their gratitude for your support this year and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – see you all in 2020!

Match Report By - Fran Holmes