Eton Manor sealed a narrow 17-10 victory over rivals Chingford and continued their impressive start to the new season.
Manor were in control of the game with all the pressure inside Chingford’s 22 early on.
Good defence stopped Manor from crossing the try line, but after a couple of infringements, Manor took the offer of points and Cameron Dutch slotted the penalty over to give his side a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes.
Chingford then had the lion's share of possession and nearly scored when their centre broke through the middle and only a good tackle stopped him from scoring.
But the visitors recycled the ball and the Chingford hooker went over for their first try with 18 minutes played.
At a scrum Chingford’s front row disintegrated and, with the referee playing advantage, Manor’s scrum half Fred Hatton drew the defence before putting Dutch through a gap in Chingford’s defensive line and he dived over for Manor's first try.
He was successful with the conversion from out wide giving Manor a 10-3 lead after 33 minutes.
It was now Manor's turn to be under pressure and Chingford laid siege to their try line, but aggressive defence saw Manor repel attack after attack until they managed to drive the ball carrier into touch for a defending line out eight metres from their line.
The throw-in was poached by Chingford and they took advantage of the turnover by driving over for their second try of the match.
With the conversion missed, the scores were tied at 10-10.
Dutch then scored the match winning try.
He took the play down the blind side, ran around one defender and then outpaced the covering Chingford scrum half who, despite a desperate attempt to put in a tackle, couldn’t stop Dutch crossing the line.
Dutch converted the score himself to seal a 17-10 win with two minutes left.
Manor's director of rugby, Mark Farrell, said: “We have not beaten Chingford for over four years and this was very much a typical local derby, with two sides putting everything on the line.
“The difference between the two sides was two pieces of sheer brilliance from fullback Cammy Dutch, who danced his way over for two superbly taken tries and claimed all of our 17 points scored.
“Leighton Buzzard RFC at home up next and we will be looking to push our good start to this season’s campaign onwards.”
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