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FANTASTIC JOB DONE WITH 64-24 WIN OVER MILLWALL
Eddie Gooby9 Mar 2019 - 19:00
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Match report by Philip Bendon
On a blustery and cold afternoon East London showed why they are second in London 3 Essex as they rumbled to a powerful 64–24 win over rivals Millwall, writes PHILIP BENDON.
Playing a brand of open running rugby the home side scored ten tries in a display that left head coach Eddie Gooby satisfied. He said: “It’s nice to play some fast attacking rugby. The supporters enjoy it, I enjoy it and most importantly the boys enjoy it.”
The players certainly appeared to be enjoying it as despite playing into a strong head wind the hosts ran in 31 points in the first half and in the process locked up the four try bonus point.
When asked whether the home side discussed turning down shots at goal into the wind Gooby said: “Millwall won the toss so we had to play into the wind, but to score 31 points against that wind was a good effort.”
The hosts didn’t have it all their own way however as it was Millwall that got over for the first score of the game on six minutes courtesy of winger Christopher Prowse with the try converted by fly half Riordan Cooper.
Playing catch up early and into a strong head wind did no damage to East London’s confidence as they stuck to their plan of running the ball and replied quickly via two tries courtesy of inside centre Lachlan McKenzie on ten minutes and right wing Sean Cooper six minutes later. Roach’s try in particular stood out as it came via a brilliant chip kick over the defensive line by fly half Ryan Billinghurst. Both conversions were missed.
Millwall briefly held the lead again on the half hour with a try under the posts by centre Andrew Mathews and converted by Cooper. East London quickly responded with McKenzie adding his second on the burst after good work from left wing Bill Brown. Full back Max Stanyard converted. Brown added a try of his own on 35 minutes under the posts from a great moved down the left flank. Stanyard converted.
Billinghurst wrapped up the four try bonus point on 38 minutes with a break through the middle and Stanyard converted. Millwall scored the final points off the half with a penalty from Cooper.
With four tries in the bag the hosts went into the second half 31–17 ahead and with the wind at their backs for the second 40 it was looking good for them.
The second period started at a frantic pace with East London again showing their attacking intent as they used the wind to great effect to put Millwall under pressure. It paid off on 42 minutes with outside centre Jack Roach pouncing for East London’s fifth score. The conversion was missed.
Millwall didn’t back down however and were rewarded for their ambition when Cooper made a scintillating break through the heart of the East London defence before offloading to Andrew Matthews who touched down under the sticks. Cooper converted to make the score 36–21 and breath live back into the visitors.
This resurgence by Millwall was brought to an abrupt end by the East London forward pack who took the game by the scruff of the neck and showed how dynamic they are at both set pieces and in open play as they began to dominate the scrum and around the fringes of the ruck with pick and goes.
“Our forward pack can mix it up when they have to, so we have a good balance here and we have pace to burn in the backs,” Gooby said.
On the hour a break by Billinghurst set up Cooper in the right corner. Billinghurst converted. With their pack dominating the East London back line made Millwall pay with a further try on 75 minutes from skipper Nick Parrott. Stanyard converted.
A break by McKenzie on 78 minutes set up a score for Roach converted by Billinghurst. Roach added another at the death which Billinghurst converted.
These scores brought the final score to 64–24 and sees East London remain in second spot in the league ahead of a visit from league leaders Epping Upper Clapton on March 23.
Looking ahead to the challenge Gooby said “We’ve got a massive game up next against the champions. The table doesn’t lie and they are the best team in the league. We are going to go out and test ourselves as best we can against them.”
When asked about his team’s chances Gooby was optimistic. He said: “It will be about doing the processes right and sticking to our game plan. When our system works, I don’t think there are many teams that can keep with us.”
East London: 15. Max Stanyard; 14. Sean Cooper; 13. Jack Roach; 12. Lachlan McKenzie; 11. Bill Brown; 10. Ryan Billinghurst; 9. Alex Pearmain; 8. Nick Parrott; 7. Simon Edscer; 6. Rob Yiannakou; 5. Jack Millard; 4. Luke Staples-Preston; 3. Paddy Coman; 2. Lewis Bourke; 1. Ben Hogan. Replacements: Mantas Urbonavicius; Daniel Bracken; Kevin O’Donoghue.
Playing a brand of open running rugby the home side scored ten tries in a display that left head coach Eddie Gooby satisfied. He said: “It’s nice to play some fast attacking rugby. The supporters enjoy it, I enjoy it and most importantly the boys enjoy it.”
The players certainly appeared to be enjoying it as despite playing into a strong head wind the hosts ran in 31 points in the first half and in the process locked up the four try bonus point.
When asked whether the home side discussed turning down shots at goal into the wind Gooby said: “Millwall won the toss so we had to play into the wind, but to score 31 points against that wind was a good effort.”
The hosts didn’t have it all their own way however as it was Millwall that got over for the first score of the game on six minutes courtesy of winger Christopher Prowse with the try converted by fly half Riordan Cooper.
Playing catch up early and into a strong head wind did no damage to East London’s confidence as they stuck to their plan of running the ball and replied quickly via two tries courtesy of inside centre Lachlan McKenzie on ten minutes and right wing Sean Cooper six minutes later. Roach’s try in particular stood out as it came via a brilliant chip kick over the defensive line by fly half Ryan Billinghurst. Both conversions were missed.
Millwall briefly held the lead again on the half hour with a try under the posts by centre Andrew Mathews and converted by Cooper. East London quickly responded with McKenzie adding his second on the burst after good work from left wing Bill Brown. Full back Max Stanyard converted. Brown added a try of his own on 35 minutes under the posts from a great moved down the left flank. Stanyard converted.
Billinghurst wrapped up the four try bonus point on 38 minutes with a break through the middle and Stanyard converted. Millwall scored the final points off the half with a penalty from Cooper.
With four tries in the bag the hosts went into the second half 31–17 ahead and with the wind at their backs for the second 40 it was looking good for them.
The second period started at a frantic pace with East London again showing their attacking intent as they used the wind to great effect to put Millwall under pressure. It paid off on 42 minutes with outside centre Jack Roach pouncing for East London’s fifth score. The conversion was missed.
Millwall didn’t back down however and were rewarded for their ambition when Cooper made a scintillating break through the heart of the East London defence before offloading to Andrew Matthews who touched down under the sticks. Cooper converted to make the score 36–21 and breath live back into the visitors.
This resurgence by Millwall was brought to an abrupt end by the East London forward pack who took the game by the scruff of the neck and showed how dynamic they are at both set pieces and in open play as they began to dominate the scrum and around the fringes of the ruck with pick and goes.
“Our forward pack can mix it up when they have to, so we have a good balance here and we have pace to burn in the backs,” Gooby said.
On the hour a break by Billinghurst set up Cooper in the right corner. Billinghurst converted. With their pack dominating the East London back line made Millwall pay with a further try on 75 minutes from skipper Nick Parrott. Stanyard converted.
A break by McKenzie on 78 minutes set up a score for Roach converted by Billinghurst. Roach added another at the death which Billinghurst converted.
These scores brought the final score to 64–24 and sees East London remain in second spot in the league ahead of a visit from league leaders Epping Upper Clapton on March 23.
Looking ahead to the challenge Gooby said “We’ve got a massive game up next against the champions. The table doesn’t lie and they are the best team in the league. We are going to go out and test ourselves as best we can against them.”
When asked about his team’s chances Gooby was optimistic. He said: “It will be about doing the processes right and sticking to our game plan. When our system works, I don’t think there are many teams that can keep with us.”
East London: 15. Max Stanyard; 14. Sean Cooper; 13. Jack Roach; 12. Lachlan McKenzie; 11. Bill Brown; 10. Ryan Billinghurst; 9. Alex Pearmain; 8. Nick Parrott; 7. Simon Edscer; 6. Rob Yiannakou; 5. Jack Millard; 4. Luke Staples-Preston; 3. Paddy Coman; 2. Lewis Bourke; 1. Ben Hogan. Replacements: Mantas Urbonavicius; Daniel Bracken; Kevin O’Donoghue.
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