London Div 1N: Brentwood 12 Eton Manor 38

A dominant performance by Eton Manor’s forwards saw them comfortably beat Brentwood away from home.

The visitors scored six tries in all thanks to their pack as they secured maximum points in their quest for promotion.

From the first line-out of the match, Manor won the ball and set up a driving maul that rolled into the Brentwood half.

Scrum-half Nick Horton took the ball from the back of the maul and ran down the blindside with Michael Egan in support.

Horton drew his man before passing to Egan, allowing the winger to touch down for the game’s opening try with just five minutes played.

The visiting pack continued to dominate the game up front when Brentwood were awarded a scrum eight metres from their own line in the 20th minute.

Under pressure, the ball squirmed out the back of the scrum and over the Brentwood line, with Garth Tucker reacting quickest to score Manor’s second try.

Five minutes later, the New Wilderness side crossed for their third try when Rory Moore touched down.

A clearing kick from Brentwood failed to find touch, instead finding Moore who ran the ball back to within 10 metres of the line.

After several phases of forward play, the ball eventually found its way back to Moore, who outpaced the covering defenders to make the score 19-0 with 25 minutes played.

With the half coming to a close, the visitors secured the bonus point when Ben Lockyer scored after a great inital break from Callum McKie.

Brentwood did grab a try of their own on the stroke of half-time, but the scoreline read favourably for Eton Manor who led 26-5 at the break.

The hosts thought they had made a blistering start to the second half, only to see their advancing winger tackled into touch by Eghan just two metres from the line minutes after the restart.

But back Brentwood came and Manor had to rely on their defence to keep their 21-point lead and, despite all the home side’s pressure, Manor were able to extend their advantage further in the 65th minute when they won a scrum against the head.

Tucker drove off the back of the scrum, making 10 metres before feeding substitute Reece Reed who in turn passed to McKie to breeze past the remanining defenders to make it 33-5.

The visitors scored their sixth try from the restart as Tucker initially made ground again and found McKie, who turned provider when he passed to scrum-half Horton, who had the pace and stamina to run the remaining 40 metres to score.

There was time for another try for Brentwood, but it proved to be too little too late with Manor already well on their way to a resounding victory.

The win ensures a top-two finish for the New Wilderness side in their push for promotion as they continue to keep pace with leaders Colchester.