CS Rugby 1863 was called “ an enigma” on a National League 3 chat forum recently.The justification for that label was all too evident from their visit to Thurrock on Saturday . Thurrock themselves were propping up the league with zero points albeit that they had had some close encounters and no really horrendous drubbings. CS were fresh off the back of a convincing away win against Barnes.

After a sluggish start involving pulling back a 12- 0 deficit CS did appear, a little belatedly, to have located the appropriate cipher to turn things around. Then though, it became clear that they had not cracked it at all.

The 12 -10 half time score line, courtesy of two tries by centre Richard McLaughlin, the first carrying on the forwards’ pick and drives, the second popping up as the final support player, already looked much healthier . When two further tries in the first ten minutes of the second half – a third for McLaughlin, sniping again from close range and a well-worked one for full-back James Houstoun - had delivered a bonus point and now a 12-24 lead for the Stags it looked as if the writing was well and truly on the wall for Thurrock, particularly as the Stags’ pack appeared to have sorted out some earlier glitches.

The home side's forwards had other ideas, however, and some poor CS decision making and in particular an awful line - out display from then on in saw the Stags quickly lose the grip that they appeared to have secured on the game.

The now worsening weather conditions also favoured the side with the better forwards on the day and the home side made that edge tell by punishing CS indiscretions born of a lack of possession and frustration. Four from five successful and well struck penalty attempts gave the home side an unexpected but not undeserved draw. The missed attempt in the middle of that sequence was from close to the half way line which was asking an awful lot of the kicker in the conditions, even with most of the wind now behind him.

The CS pack had been reduced to seven men for the critical final period with James Porter seeing yellow : the final successful Thurrock kick came with little less than two minutes to go but for some time it had looked as if this result, if not an even worse one, was very much on the cards.

CS Rugby 1863 scorers:

Tries:

Mclaughlin (3)
Houstoun

Conversions:

Hadden (2)