East London were at their brilliant best as despite injuries to Emmanuel Varlez and Vice-Captain Lewis Curtis, they produced a dominant performance to beat Queen Mary’s 28-7.
It was a standout performance from full-back, turned fly half, Jordan Dowsett, who ended the game with 18 points as Finlay McDonald and James Waller also found themselves on the score-sheet.
Coming into the match-day level on points with Essex, this fixture against Queen Mary’s was crucial for East London hunting the league title.
Early Control
Despite a cagey start for both teams, East London looked the much better squad in the early exchanges. Strong running from long-term injury returnee Finley McDonald and the ever-reliable Harry Walker in the midfield gave East London all their go-forward in the first half.
East London’s scum began to let them down late in the half, and Captain Harry Walker was not best pleased, saying “It’s annoying when you’re clearly better than the other team, but we can’t build momentum because of our set-piece, a real fundamental.”
The stalemate was eventually broken when East London looked to spread the ball after a period camped on the opposition five metre line. The ball moved through the hands as far as Dowsett, who slipped a tackle and dotted down, setting himself up for an easy extra two.
In the second half, East London’s running rugby and edge in endurance became more evident. Ill-discipline and the inability to keep up with East London’s play lead to endless penalties against Queen Mary’s and saw them have two players sent to the sin bin.
Fresh Legs
The introduction of Reece Lemasurier to the front row stabilised East London’s scrum giving them a stronger platform in the second half.
The next try came when McDonald found himself in acres of space around 40 metres out, breaking two tackles in the process, he got to the line for East London’s second, with Dowsett adding the conversion.
It wasn’t long before East London made it 21-0, it was yet again Dowsett on the scoresheet scoring a very similar try to McDonald just 10 minutes before.
Clinical Queen Mary’s
Queen Mary’s got a consolation try on their only visit of the game to the East London 22. A big gap opened up in East London’s defence for the first time, and Queen Mary’s made the most of it, scoring their only seven points of the fixture.
As the game drew to a close, East London began to realise the importance of a bonus point and began to string together a lot of good phases, consistently making ground.
The game ended with East London scrum half James Waller sniping around the breakdown to finish off what had been a strong return to form for East London.
Champions In Waiting?
This result leaves East London within touching distance of the league title. There are five points between them and Essex with only two games left to play.
Next week, East London will travel to St Mary’s for their penultimate game, in a week that could see them wrap up the title.
