Fresh from the festive break, Old Brentwoods travelled to Millwall to continue their fruitful campaign and launch 2024. Given the top of the league’s tight margins the Woodies knew nothing less than the full bonus point win would be acceptable, although respected that Millwall were no easy side.
From the opening exchanges it was clear there were some Christmas cobwebs in need of blowing out – with some less than desirable handling, set piece misfires and lazy rucking gifting Millwall the bulk of the possession. Despite this the Woodies defence kept the Home side at bay, giving little ground and displaying good discipline. Millwall finally gathered a penalty on the 22 and wisely took the 3pts seeing no way through the wall of Blue [3-0].

From the reset Millwall went on the attack, starving the Visitors of meaningful possession and playing from deep until a knock on allowed Woodies their first real platform inside the opponent's half. After a dancing run from returning centre Oliver ‘Magic’ Strange, the Home side were able to snuff an overlap break but subsequently over threw their own lineout recovering just in time to halt the charging debut Dylan English close to the line. A dominant attacking scrum again released Magic between the centres, with only the post padding being able to bring him down and deny the try – his lack of awareness earning him the DotD smudge on an all-round great performance.
Disappointed with the lack of score, the Old Boys felt the tide was turning on their favour and dismissed a kickable penalty for the corner. Despite their trusted set piece maul being downed 5m out, the defenders were sucked in enough to allow for a delayed pass through to centre Aaron Knapp to cut through the middle and dive over the line - continuing his try scoring hot streak from the final game of last year. [3-7]

It wasn’t long before the Old Brentwoods were again on the attack due to multiple jackals and strong set play execution. With the cogs now turning Woodies shifted the ball from coast to coast seeking gaps in the defence. Dylan once again broke the line and Magic was rejected a score, this time being held up by scrambling tacklers. Unable to escape their half from the drop out, the Visitors repeated their attack manoeuvring the ball well and releasing speedster Nathan Frost down his wing. Running out of space he chipped the ball forward, challenging the recovering player enough to botch his exit into the deadly hands of Tim Mason. With a broken field in front of him he picked out the arced run of Fullback Rhys Town to skip through shoulders and splash down beneath the posts. [3-14 HT]

Keen to keep their momentum the fired up Old Brentwoods unfortunately found themselves starting the second half much like the first with simple errors giving Millwall the lion’s share of both possession and territory. Once again the Boys in Blue made them fight for every yard, furiously meeting them head on with player coach Matthew Staines leading from the front with a Herculean tackle count. Phase after continuous phase the Home side crashed the ball, each time being brutally turned away. It was only a matter of time before fatigue began to creep in and they eventually shipped the ball wide for their centre to glance through tired shoulders and over the white-wash for an arguably well deserved try. [10-14]

Collecting their breath under the posts, Woodies went straight back to work eager to get control of the ball and on the offensive. The Home side had other plans and, despite being turned over, were able to recover and move up the field. A loose pressured pass from a Millwall lineout snubbed the initial attack but unperturbed they again struck from deep with only a knock on stopping a pouncing run from their energetic centre.
With almost a full quarter defending, the Woodies at long last battled their way to an opportune lineout and started to develop some attacking rugby. Testing the Home side from side to side a penalty from a high tackle was tapped quickly and dashed into the red zone with the supporting Dylan tirelessly being brought down close to the line for the third time. Staggered defenders were unable to reorganise before a series of miss passes hurled the ball wide for a walk-in 2nd try for Rhys Town in the corner. [10-21]

Encouraged by the quality of play when they had the ball Old Brentwoods continued to exert pressure from the restart but Millwall held firm winning a ruck infringement. The ball was athletically kept in field and collected by bounding winger Ralph Kannor who carved through the shattered kick chase up back to halfway. A counter ruck infringement allowed the Woodies to garner further territory but Millwall were let off the hook from a lineout miscommunication, the 10 making sure to clear the lines.
Following a passage of broken and penalised play from both teams Woodies muscled their way into the opponent’s half and set up a stampeding maul downfield. Once downed, a determined Cameron Phillips charged through tacklers dragging bodies to within sight of scoring before being hauled down with the recycled quick ball falling into the hands of Captain Stu Smyth who bolted over to claim the try. [10-28]

Bonus point secured and feeling the game was in hand, the Old Boys confidently went on the offensive playing some fluid rugby from the kick off. Some soft handling and well supported off loads unlocked the defence giving space for the Backs to strike the fringes. Swift through the hands gave winger Liam Talbot the overlap 5m meters out but the grounding was deemed knocked on saving the Home team from another rapid try.
Feeling short changed and facing a Millwall scrum on their own 5m line, the Old Bs Forward pack took matters into their own hands. Having been dominant in scrums all afternoon they unleashed their full brawn, blasting straight through and enabling Dylan English to scoop up the loose ball and leap over the line – topping off a man of the match performance and rewarding the travelling supporters with roaring celebrations along the touchline. Tim Mason flawlessly converted for a 100% record for the day. [10-35]

Millwall, not to be outdone and showing real character, came back in the final moments of the game catching Old Brentwoods’ complacency with some clever tip play and managing to touch down the final score to close the match. [15-35]

A very tough Away win and a real defensive test to start the New Year, Woodies succeeded in their bonus point objective and now prepare for tthe local derby against 3rd place Billericay.

Author;
G.Barrett
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