Tonbridge Juddians 26 Bury St Edmunds 17: National League 2 East match report

By Adam Hookway

Tonbridge Juddians made it three wins in a row - and their fourth from five National League 2 East fixtures this season - with a 26-17 victory over Bury St Edmunds.

TJs had the breeze at their backs in the first half but started poorly and the away side were quickly on the board with a penalty. Sam Evans slotted three points to level things up, and he added a second five minutes later.

The game was a stop-start affair for long periods. TJs were looking to play in their opponents’ half as much as possible and looked to pin them back with early kicks over or through. This strategy paid dividends after 24 minutes when a good drive by the pack was followed up by some strong running in the backline and Shadyn Osgood crashed over on the left.

Tonbridge gifted their visitors their own try a few minutes later and the conversion narrowed the gap between the teams to a point, although they dug deep to stop a further Bury score before the interval.

Accuracy and discipline was an issue for both sides after the break. However the Juddians backline seemed to be getting the upper hand, forcing their opponents to try and find ways round the outside as nothing was happening through the middle. This paid off, though, and Bury St Edmunds went in front with a converted try after 52 minutes.

After another penalty offence the away side fumbled a quick tap and allowed TJs an attacking scrum. From there the backs ran well to release Howard Packman to scurry over for an unconverted score.

Osgood then claimed his second touchdown after excellent work by the forwards, Evans adding the extras, and TJs led 23-17 after the hour mark.

That proved the end of the try scoring, although Tonbridge added another penalty with five minutes