Hattrick Hero Wilden helps see off Thanet after a thrilling comeback!

Beckenham welcomed Thanet to Balmoral Avenue this weekend, keen to keep the winning streak alive.

Beckenham came charging out the blocks with some great passage of play early on, some quick offloads got Beckenham up into Thanet’s 22 early on. After a few more phases and some quick hands out wide, Tom Bateman used his dancing feet to beat two defenders and run in for the first try of the match. The kick was converted by reliable Louis Richards to make it 7-0 with 10 minutes played.

Lots of rugby being played in Thanet’s half, but unable to capitalise. Strong defence from Thanet who win a penalty for not releasing in the ruck. A quick catch and drive from the line out gets Thanet rolling before whipping the ball out to the backs. The Thanet outside centre shows some great footwork to get through the defence and score Thanets first points. Conversion is good with the score at 7-7 with 25’ played.

Beckenham bounce back quickly with a penalty awarded in front of Thanet’s posts and Louis Richards slots 3 points from the tee to make it 10-7 with 26 minutes played. Thanet get the game going again with a long restart into the Beckenham 22. Some sloppy handling errors see Thanet get a scrum inside Beckenham’s 22 which leads to Thanet’s outside centre running over the line for a penalty try, for a high tackle in the try area, with Will Berry spending 10 minutes in the bin for the tackle. Score 10-14 with 32’ played.

With Thanet’s heads high, they came firing back with some great phases of play. Beckenham giving away several penalties around the breakdown, which hands Thanet an easy opportunity to get the ball deep in to Beckenham’s half. A long kick from Thanet’s fly half presents them with a brilliant attacking opportunity on the Beckenham 5metre line. Thanet players go piling into a driving maul with 12 of their men hitting the maul helping them go crashing over the line to get the score. The conversion is good giving Thanet a 10-21 lead at the end of the first half.

The second half begins with Beckenham attacking towards bungalow corner knowing they have left themselves a lot of work to do. Beckenham get out the blocks quick with some fast hands and phases, getting them into Thanets half early on. Some quick thinking from BJ Tarbie on the wing with a kick through, puts Thanet on their heels and forced to kick into touch. With a 5 metre line out, Beckenham set up a strong driving maul which sees fan favourite Rob Willden flop over the line in bungalow corner. Extras good from out wide from the ever-accurate Louis Richards. 17-21 with 43 mins played. GAME ON.

Beckenham get the ball rolling again with some great passages of plays out wide. With Thanet on the back foot, a penalty is awarded on the half way to Beckenham. The ball is kicked deep in to the Thanet 22 for a line out. Another brilliant cash and drive sees Balmoral erupt, as Willden goes over for another try. Extras good and Beckenham are back in front. 24-21 with 53’ played.

The Beckenham crowd are now right behind the lads, getting everyone fired up. Beckenham quickly get possession back in Thanets’ half, some nice quick hands from the forwards gets us over the game line and some quick hands out wide sees Will Berry fresh from his 10 minute breather go over in the corner for the bonus point. Reliable Richards with the extras from the touch line. 31-21 with 60’ played.

Thanet weren’t going to give up easy though, some phases inside Beckenham’s half saw them come within 5 metres, with some pick and goes from the breakdown, they crash over in the corner. Conversion was good, 34-28 with 65’ played.

With 15 minutes left, the match was opening up with both teams going for the win. Carry after carry from Beckenham’s forwards making up some metres just inside Thanet’s half. A penalty was awarded to Beckenham for hands in the ruck, giving Richards the opportunity to slot a 3 pointer from just inside the Thanet 10 metre, which of course was successful. 37-28 with 68’ played.

At this point, the crowd were right behind the lads with victory looking ever so likely. Beckenham kept on the relentless carrying, charging at the tired Thanet defence. Richards makes a great break and nearly puts scrum half Craig Thomson in. The recycled ball is excellently passed by replacement centre Josh Burke for Matt Shillabeer to trot over from 2m out. Extras duly slotted by Richards once again. 44-28 with 75’ played.

Both teams still battling it out till the end, leaving nothing left on the pitch. The final play of the game bought the final try, Michael Timms making the break in midfield to put Beckenham on the front foot. From the breakdown the resulting cross field kick from Richards was brilliantly taken by Berry, which took us within 5 metres of Thanet’s try line. A quick pick and go gets Beckenham over the line from guess who? Rob Willden for the hattrick! Extras good from Richards again from out wide. 51-28 with the ref blowing the whistle for final play of the game.

A brilliantly entertaining game of rugby, with Beckenham leaving themselves lots to do in the second half. Full credit to Thanet who came out strongly and made it a battle until the final whistle. A lot to work on going into next week, which sees Beckenham take a short trip to local rivals Old Colfeians which is set to be a cracker of a game.

MOTM - Will Berry
Report by Conor Palmer