Westcombe Park Tigers produced some outstanding attacking rugby as they ran in nine tries to beat Sidcup II 57–24, with Dan Shergold at the heart of an impressive Combe performance.

It wasn’t the perfect start. After some less-than-tidy work in our own half, Combe handed Sidcup early opportunities and the visitors took advantage, crossing after just five minutes to lead 7–0.

Combe’s response, however, was excellent.

With Pender and George Nott beginning to run some excellent lines and the forwards generating quicker ball at the breakdown, the Tigers started to find their rhythm. On 11 minutes, quick ruck ball and some sharp handling created space on the right for Walton to finish in the corner. Clayton added an excellent conversion to level the scores.

From there, the Combe backs began to look increasingly dangerous.

A superb break from Dan Shergold resulted in another Tigers try, with Clayton again adding the extras, before Shergold produced another devastating run to help create Combe’s third. Another Clayton conversion made it 21–7 after half an hour.

The rugby wasn’t the only entertainment. Adrian Hunt’s commitment to retrieving a loose ball resulted in a brief but decisive encounter with the bushes. Bushes 1, Hunt 0.

Fortunately, Hunt The Younger made a rather more conventional contribution shortly afterwards. A good lineout win provided the platform for a powerful rolling maul, with Roofe emerging with the ball and the try. Clayton converted and Combe led 28–7.

There was still time for one more before the break.

Dan Hamilton rolled back the years with a wonderful mazy run through the Sidcup defence before touching down beneath the posts. The conversion sent the Tigers into half-time with an imposing 35–7 lead.

Combe began the second half exactly where they had left off.

A huge Shergold hit in midfield forced Sidcup into a hurried clearance which failed to find touch. Combe immediately countered, slick passing moving the ball through the backs before Shergold finished the move. Clayton’s conversion stretched the advantage to 42–7.

Sam Rhodes then ran a superb line from a lineout before Walton picked up from the base and went under the posts as the Tigers threatened to run away with the game.

But the momentum was about to change.

Shergold was shown a yellow card after lifting an opponent’s legs above the horizontal in the tackle. Sidcup used the resulting penalty to establish field position and crossed to make it 47–12.

Combe were now struggling at the lineout and their earlier scrum dominance was beginning to disappear. Matters became considerably harder when Gamble received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, reducing the Tigers to 13 men.

Sidcup took advantage.

A try from a lineout made it 47–17 after 65 minutes before another break through the Combe defence produced a further score two minutes later. With two players in the bin, the Tigers were having to work extremely hard defensively.

But even with numbers against them, Combe remained dangerous with ball in hand.

On 69 minutes George Nott produced some nifty footwork to finish another excellent backs move and restore some breathing space.

With Pender returning at hooker and Jordan Guy moving across to prop, Combe had to reshuffle again as Sidcup continued to attack. Some excellent scrambling defence from the back three prevented another score as the game became increasingly stretched.

Both sides were tiring, but there was still time for Combe to produce arguably their best rugby of the afternoon.

In the 79th minute the Tigers attacked from deep, producing a superb passage of rugby featuring excellent handling, hard running lines and support players appearing exactly where they were needed. George Nott eventually crossed the line, but this was very much a team try.

It was a fitting way to finish an afternoon in which the Tigers showed just how dangerous they can be when playing at pace.

There will be areas to address — particularly the second-half lineout, the loss of scrum dominance and the two yellow cards which allowed Sidcup back into the contest.

But the overriding impression was of a Combe side capable of playing some excellent attacking rugby. The backs looked slick, the support play was outstanding at times and, with Shergold causing problems throughout, the Tigers carried a threat from almost anywhere on the field.

Full Time: Westcombe Park Tigers 57–24 Sidcup II

Nine tries, plenty of running rugby and, most importantly, Adrian Hunt eventually made it back out of the bushes