Another game of two halves saw Gravesend lose 34-10 to visitors Battersea Ironsides. In a disappointing first half Gravesend’s defence was torn open when Battersea made the most from turning over good Gravesend ball in the middle of the pitch.

Gravesend need to retain possession of the ball be more aggressive at the breakdown if they are to remain in this league next season. That said the Gs started off positively in the first half and looked to begin the game with real intent. With the impressive academy pairing of Will Steiner and debutant Nathan Anderson there was more than a youthful look about this team.

It wasn’t long before Battersea identified the weakness turned over the ball and scored out wide. This was followed by another self-inflicted try as scrum half Ned Warren was charged down close to the try line. By the time Will Steiner scored towards the end of the half Gravesend were down 27-5.

The second half was an all together tighter affair as Gravesend shored up their defence and for large parts had good spells of possession. In an afternoon when judging by the penalty count you would have thought Gravesend were completely on top they did manage another score when Samraj Chahal went over to reduce the deficit to 27-10. With no scores for the rest of the half it looked like that was going to be it but then Battersea once again opened up and went over for the final score, converted and a win at 34-10.

Having now played all of the top 6 sides in the league and with an International break to come Gravesend will hope they can turn things around in the run up to Christmas.

Next up Old Tiffinians away on 9th November.