A tough day for all 3 teams

Holt 1st XV 19 : 34 Southend Saxons (Home league loss)
Diss 2s 33 : 17 Holt 2s (Away league loss)
Holt 3s 12 : 25 Lakenham Union (Home league loss)

Once again fielding 3 strong senior teams, on Saturday Holt 1st XV welcomed league leaders and semi-professional team Southend Saxons to Bridge Road, formidable opponents having a superb start to their season with only one loss to date.

Recalling our previous encounter early in September, the players & coaches alike remember it being a challenging journey marred by extreme heat in excess of 40°C, stuck in traffic for over two hours, and losing our fly half in the first quarter to a head injury. Undeterred, Holt battled against the odds, with Southend beating us reasonably comfortably.

On the first of our reverse fixtures, players and supporters at Bridge Road couldn’t have experienced much more different weather conditions - cold, very wet and very windy! This didn’t deter anyone however with our inaugural ladies’ pre-match lunch really well attended and a joy for all 120-folk dining. I imagine there will be some sore heads this morning! Thank you to Stacey Drewry for initiating this event which will now surely become a permanent fixture in our annual lunch calendar. Thank you to CJC Lee for kindly being yesterday’s lunch sponsors; we hope you enjoyed yourselves.

The Match Report by 1st XV Manager and Senior Fixtures Secretary Martyn Jackson follows at the end, slightly less detailed than usual and a challenge to decipher following the Sheringham Lifeboat Christmas Party last night! As ever I am really grateful.

Thank you to Stuart Young for some great photos of the game including above and to Duncan Ayers for lending me his camera; note to self never to give up my day job! Please click here to view lunch & game photos. I have great respect for the skill of camera men who are able to capture action shots of the game. We are currently seeking a new Club Photographer, a voluntary role. Please do get in touch with myself or Phil Sharpe if you are interested.

Speaking during the week Head Coach Phil Sharpe said “Our aim is to demonstrate the lessons learned since our previous encounter, showcasing a more resilient and formidable opposition. Our team has grown, and we looked forward to a competitive match, aiming to prove that we’ve evolved since our last meeting. We continue to strive to be creative in their attacking play and continue our transformative journey which, spanning several years, is now yielding tangible dividends”.

Now midpoint in the season, our form over recent weeks has been strong as we have now got the measure of what is required to enjoy life in this league. Bridge Road was thoroughly entertained as the players showed they have what it takes to contend well with the best in this league. The primary goal for our 1st team this season is to maintain a place in this league and continue to enjoy the whole rugby experience and, though the final result was disappointing given how well we played, we remain in a strong position, maintaining 7th place.

Post match Chairman Rob Hughes said “The first ever Ladies Day pre-match lunch set the tone for last home game of 2023. The boys then played their hearts out against the clear leaders of the league and were very unlucky to come away from the game with nothing. With the score at 19-27, Saxons’ last minute try and conversion was well worked by them, but harsh on us. The Bridge Road season has been memorable so far, bring on the Norwich game and 2024!”.

Post match Vice Chair Geoff Flathers said “Congratulations to Southend on a hard-fought victory. Holt can hold their heads up high as they have shown yet again that they are more than competitive and belong in this league. All the senior players, coaches and backroom staff should be congratulated on this. We now have a huge week in front of us, with a Derby Day away fixture at Norwich this next Saturday.”

Post match Phil Sharpe said “It was really encouraging to see the players take lessons we’d learned into the game; we always knew this would be a tough one. There were no two ways about that, Southend are on top of the league for good reason and are a very professional outfit in every aspect of the word. Our main goal was to right some of the wrongs from our last encounter with them in September and give a better account of ourselves; we did that in abundance. We took the game to them with a strong line out, very strong defence and great attacking rugby, with the majority of the game ebbing and flowing relentlessly. We were disappointed not to get a score from a great line out and cross-field kick, it being judged to have been received by a player offside. On other days, I’m sure that would’ve been seen differently; however we can only change the things that we can control. We know we need to be more astute and are enjoying the lessons and learning every game”.

Phil continued “Moving forward we need to make sure that we can maintain consistency in our play and recognise when weaknesses occur in the game to attack those with a degree of urgency. We have definitely seen progress in this area but know there’s still a lot more we can do. We have confidence in ourselves, are not afraid of anybody in this league and will keep pushing hard, knowing that things will come to us. We remain on target for our goals this season and remain focused on the bigger picture.

We are grateful for the outstanding support once again; it is one of the things that makes our club so special on and off the pitch. We now look forward to our last game before Christmas, a short trip down the road to Norwich next Saturday”.

Match Report - Martyn Jackson: “After 16 mins of relentless pressure Southend finally broke the stubborn Holt defence, a penalty into the corner allowed a catch and drive for a try. The conversion was missed.
On 25 minutes a Southend kick ahead deep into Holt territory saw Mel Gilmour gather and attack, linking with Ollie Woodrow who took it on further. Ollie was in turn supported by James Spratt who passed it back to Woodrow to score. Jackson got the conversion.
Holt 7 Southend 5
On 27 minutes another line out in Holt’s 22 saw them spread the ball through the hands to score. The conversion was kicked.
Holt 7 Southend 12
On 31 minutes, from a scrum midfield, Holt broke with Jackson making ground; he offloaded to Finlay Wilcox who scored under the posts. This was Wilcox’s 1st start for the 1st XV and debut try. Jackson converted.
Holt 14 Southend 12
A Southend penalty on 34 minutes saw them with another attacking line-out deep in the Holt 22. A catch and drive bought a try. The conversion was missed.
Half time: Holt 14 Southend 17

10 minutes into the 2nd half, Southend increased their lead spreading the ball wine from scrum on the Holt 22. The conversion was missed.
Holt 14 Southend 22
On 24 minutes there was another Southend try attacking from halfway, keeping possession through several phases. The kick was missed.
Holt 14 Southend 27
On the half hour Jackson drilled a kick deep into the Southend 22. Holt deployed the 11-man line out, won a penalty which was taken quickly, and Charlie Cowling crashed over for the try. The conversion was missed.
Holt 19 Southend 27
Southend had one last hurrah deep into extra time when a break from a short line out saw them breach the magnificent Holt defence for the last time. The conversion was good.
Final score Holt 19 Southend 34

Congratulations to Moongazerale Man of the Match Joe Harrison for his work rate which was outstanding today. Joe is sponsored by Woodland Holiday Park.
Well done also to 2s Man of the Match Jamie Buckingham and 3s Man of the Match Morgan Gowing.

Unfortunately, after celebrating a full house of wins last Saturday, yesterday saw Holt on the losing side of all results. Onwards and upwards to next weekend with our final games of 2023.