Sat 18 Apr 2026
Maldon welcomed Billericay to Drapers Farm on a glorious Spring day, with the ground very hard & all players looking forward to losing much skin from knees & elbows.
The game started at a fast pace, a big miss pass from Jack Judd led to a great burst from winger Alakarnye Turay which took Maldon to the Billericay try line, allowing Demetri Sofocleous to burst through the last defenders to open the scoring, converted by Dan Allen, 7-0.
Maldon continued to move the ball at pace, but, eventually, were turned over & Billericay then moved the ball around well, showing good handling & gained territory because of a late tackle by Maldon. Billericay won a scrum against the head & started to look dangerous. At another scrum Billericay used pace to get to the wing & scored a well-taken try, 7-7.
Maldon were making ground through their hard-running forwards, continually getting over the gainline. Following a number of strong carries, the ball was moved wide & keeping the ball alive gave Lewis Nichols the chance to barge over from close range, 12-7.
Billericay then missed a penalty from in front of the posts, which deflated them a little. Maldon stuck with the fast pace & were, once again, on the Billericay line, pinning Billericay back through strong support work. Only Billericay's scrum was keeping them in the game. Maldon’s line-put was improved, giving valuable possession & the opportunity to keep running at Billericay.
At this point Maldon’s discipline was giving them problems, with too many penalties being given. Jim Roblin and Ryan Martin standing out with their work rate in defence, and because of this Billericay were restricted to one score. After a turn over Maldon got down the pitch, but missed a chance to score, but allowed players from both teams to come together in the spirit of friendship. Billericay failed to clear their lines & Ben Marshall crossed for a deserved try, 17-7.
A late tackle by Billericay gave field position to Maldon, yet again, inside the Billericay 22. More good handling & strong running saw Sam Langston, in his first game for a few weeks, power over the line, converted by Dan Allen, 24-7 at half-time.
Billericay moved the ball a bit at the start of the 2nd half, to some success, but then tried to run through Maldon despite this method not working all game. Maldon’s dominant defence prevented Billericay from crossing the try line.
Winger Alakarnye Turay was offside (contrary to the Veo evidende), giving Billericay a penalty, then was called for a deliberate knock-on (not contrary to the Veo evidence), earning him the first yellow card of the day. Billericay were keen to score & moved the ball wide, only for Sam Langston to intercept the ball, with 95 miles/metres to go. The crowd were thinking that Sam’s Dad, Paul Langston, could finish this off. Then the crowd thought that Sam’s Mum, Jane Langston, could also reach the try line (probably running past Sam with the camera in hand). However, Sam hadn’t played for a number of weeks & the firm ground seemed like treacle/quicksand/mud as Sam’s leg speed slowed down. Luckily , Olly Anthony was in support & finished it off, converted by Dan Allen, 31-7.
Billericay seemed deflated, Maldon elated. Maldon kept on tackling, despite being down to 14 men. From a Billericay scrum a loose pass produced a bobbling ball & Alakarnye Turay, back on the pitch, redeemed himself by picking it up & racing to the posts, try converted by Dan Allen, 38-7.
Some huge hits from Tom Britton and Jack Evans continuing his efforts to make the most tackles ever made by one player in a single season kept Billericag on the back foot. Eventually though, due to the tiredness of the players, a number of injuries to both teams & the fact that the game was won the quality started to slip.
But, credit to Billericay, they kept on playing, their task made easier by a yellow card to George Perkins (possibly more yellow cards this season, than points?), taking Maldon to 14 men again. This allowed Billericay to score, 38-12.
Demetri Sofocleous was subbed off, then recalled, then, within one minute, received a yellow card, taking Maldon to 13 men. This allowed for more space and for Billericay to score, 38-17.
Next, Tom Britton received a yellow card, forgetting he was playing rugby he went for a basketball-esque slam dunk, taking Maldon to 12 men. This allowed Billericay to score, 38-24.
Thankfully, time ran out before Maldon received more yellow cards & Billericay scored even more.
This was a very good performance, leaving Maldon 4th in the league table, with one game remaining. Their final league position will be 4th or 5th.
Man of the match - Tom Britton
Next league fixture, the final game of the season, is at home to Upper Clapton on 25.04
