Edenbridge vs Gillingham, Kent Merit League 'B'
Edenbridge picked up the return leg against Gillingham where they left off from their last encounter. Lilley went over in the corner in within 5 minutes from the kick off after sustained pressure from the forwards, the conversion from the corner was unfortunately missed by Weaver. This was closely followed by a try from Norris who carved passed Gillingham players from the 22, converted by Weaver.
Norris followed this up with a try off the back of an excellent break from Clarke who was unable to reach the line, again converted by Weaver.
The Edenbridge pack, despite being equal in size to the Gillingham pack struggled to make any headway in the scrums and line out possession was also restricted.
‘Bridge’s lead was further stretched by a try from nowhere from Weaver, he also provided the additional conversion points.
A couple of changes to the Gillingham squad appeared to bolster the side and Gills scored a try from a pack pushover. Closely followed by a second and third unanswered try with the Gills number 8 proving decisive in their scoring; two of which were converted.
Some of the refereeing decisions were dubious on both sides none more so that a 10 minute break in the half for the removal of dog mess!
Although Gills had most of the possession in the half, Edenbridge picked up their game and introduced a four man line which had some success with the hefty pack taking crash ball to Gillingham. This freed up space for Purvis to make a break through the middle and offload to Purvis to finish the move with a score. Converted by Weaver
Gills however got the wind in their sails again and scored quickly with a converted try.
The game was however put to bed by a break from Stevens from the 22 in to score another converted try.
Final Score Gills 24 Bridge 40
Edenbridge
Scorers:
Tries: Lilley, Norris (2), Stevens, Weaver, Purvis
Cons: Weaver (5)
Pens:
Team:
15.Perry, S; 14. Allwood, D; 13. Norris, C; 12. Clarke, R; 11. Sedgwick, S; 10. Dobson, C; 9. Purivs A; 1. Berry, M; 2. Lilley, C (capt.) (rep. Smith, B); 3. MacInnes, A; 4. Kennedy, W; 5. Stevens, B; 6. Batchelor, S; 7. Weaver, B; 8. Briggs, M