Gravesend forwards earn respect

With the club taken over for the annual Mayor of Gravesham's Lunch, sponsored and organised by TRUSS, and an array of distinguished guests that included the Mayor of Gravesham, Councillor John Caller, with his lady Mayoress Sue Caller, President of Kent RFU, Tim Fagg with his wife Rachel, Gravesham MP Adam Holloway, guest speaker, ex England International Mickey Skinner and John Grundy who were representing the Wooden Spoon Charity, David Cory, Mike Grasby ,Geoff Pettet from TJs and Geoff Wybar and James Fotheringham from Gravesend Grammar School.

Cold damp and windy conditions were sure to play a major part in the proceedings on the park, as the players fought to control a slippery ball.

Gravesend were first on the scoreboard as George Montgomery slotted over an early penalty chance for 3-0.

Following some scrappy play from both XVs, it was TJs hooker Sam Bailey who seized the opportunity and the loose ball as he made ground before putting Lee Campion in for a try near the corner.

Miki Zanirato missed the chance to increase the visitors advantage as his conversion attempt fell short.

Too many penalty infringements by the visitors allowed the Gravesend pack to keep the pressure on at the set pieces, and just reward came from a recycled line-out ball as Jamie Forsyth "sprinted" over the whitewash to restore Gs advantage.

Montgomery added the extras from the tee for a 10-5 advantage.

Gravesend's pack was in control to the point of how many more scores would there be to follow the first, but TJs had other ideas. The visiting defence line was immense, as they kept their line secure, stopping the attacking home backs before they had crossed the gain line.

To be fair, when called on there was little fault to be found in the Gs defensive line as they squashed the infrequent forays from their visitors.

In this first half, the player who stood out on the park for his total commitment and tireless work rate was Tom Bird, but that is not to say there weren't others who's outstanding performances should also have led to further Gravesend scores.

A second penalty from the boot of Montgomery four minutes from the break was matched by one from Zanirato on the stroke of half-time that saw the teams leave the field with the scores standing at 13-8.

Gravesend definitely have some areas to work on at the line-out, perhaps the three-quarters should show a little more ambition to spread the ball wider at times, and perhaps a little less telegraphing of the moves around the rucks, also a need to vary the direction of play, but overall there was some very good periods of play mixed in with the errors.

Four minutes in from the restart and Zanirato punished a penalty reversal to close the gap to 13-11, but still Gravesend were continuing to dominate the affairs on the ground.

A further twenty-four minutes of play dominated by Gs, with nothing to show for it, but then disaster struck as what looked to be an overlap for Gs that just needed the ball to get to the correct hands, but an interception by TJs saw Richie Bent chase home to touch down. Zanirato's conversion again went wide of the mark.

At 13-16 Gravesend found they were at the wrong side of the scoreline with just twelve minutes remaining on the clock.

Great pick and drives from the forwards but telegraphed moves let TJs defend their line. A drive that saw all but two of the Gravesend players in the maul, but as the play went down, the ball was adjudged to have been held up.

True to the spirit of the game the decision was accepted and Gs prepared to drive across the line again, but this time TJs came up with the ball, kicking for touch. Failing to find the line, Gs looked to be able to come forward only for the ball to be dropped, again!

With time running short Gs kicked a field penalty for the line-out, ball won and several phases later they were still being kept at bay.

The clock having moved past the finish time, and the next stoppage would be the final, Gs kept the ball live and more importantly kept possession until finally the driving pack crossed the line with Ziggy Stevens at the bottom of the heap with the ball on the ground in goal, 18-16.

Montgomery capped another good afternoon from the hand and the boot as he slotted the conversion between the posts for a final tally of 20-16.

Club President, Graham Haggar, along with a few other senior members of the club, left the touchline before the final score, citing the worry of a possible myocardial infarction as the reason, but one feels they wanted to get to the bar before everyone else.