With Witham having 10 players, it was agreed that Basildon would lend us 3 players so that as many boys got game time as possible. Basildon started strongly and showed from the start that they had the edge in the rucks. But Witham were reforming their defence and hitting the tackles. Eventually, the home side did break through but they had to work for their lead. After their second try, Daniel took a ball and went on a 30yard dash, eventually stopped outside the Basildon '22. After 3 phases of play, the hosts stole possession and kicked clear. Ryan collected, passed to Daniel and this time was not going to be stopped. From 35 yards, he evaded several tackles before opening the scoring for Witham. Basildon then dominated for the next few minutes and extended their lead. Late in the half, a series of rucks saw Witham close to the Basildon line. The coaches had told the lads that if you can smell the line, pick and drive. Boyo, must have a good sense of smell as he picked up the ball from 15 metres our and bulldozed his way through the home pack to score. Our boys had given everything in that first half, but they never let their effort dropped, even though Basildon had a comfortable lead. Olly had been nervous about his first game but looked to be involved in everything and enjoying it. When Yammy made a huge hit, Jimmy pounced, stole the ball and fed it to Owen who saw there was space at the back. His well placed kick was followed by Jack and Manny, who harassed the defence into making a mistake. From the scrum, Harvey looked to be sneaking over but was halted, only for Jack to show him how to tunnel under the big boys to the line. Choosing a Man of the match was tough but Jack had worked so hard throughout the game and scored a brilliant try to deservedly wear the shirt.