RUGBY: James Arthur's weekly column (April 15)

It wasn't a flowing game of rugby and, at times, it wasn't pretty. For the first time in a while we left it to the final play of the game to claim the win.

After our poor performance against Henley before Christmas, it was great to gain some revenge and continue our winning streak, and also to end our home season on a high.

The day had a carnival feel to it, with a large crowd, including a minis touring team from Aylesford, sun shining and a good feeling running through the club. It could have been the end of the season, but with three tough away fixtures remaining, we must keep our focus.

The team was forced into a late re-shuffle with Greg Sullivan unable to recover from an injury in time to take to the field. That meant Chris Meddings came into the centres and George Ryle onto the bench.

We held Henley out in the first half and scored our tries through Raynn Bruce and Charlie McGowan, with the addition of a conversion and a penalty we went in to half time 15-12 up.

In the second half, we stepped up a gear to take control of the game but were never really able to convert our chances.

A second converted try came in the last minute of stoppage time, again from Charlie, which meant we took the victory, 22-15.

It was a scrappy game that never really got going but with the excitement at the end, we hope it kept the supporters entertained.

n The rest of the weekend's scores saw big wins for Southend against Rosslyn Park, who are now struggling to hold on to their second place slot, as Ealing brought home a convincing away win against Clifton.

Westcombe Park came away with a strong 20-0 win against sinking Bridgwater and Barnes may have found some form a little late, beating Dings.

Canterbury had their rest week, so we now lose our game advantage, but remain in sixth with a seven-point advantage. With the remaining games we have, we must remain focused to maintain our place.

n This week saw us award our players' player and supporters' player of the year. I am pleased to announce that both awards went to a very deserving Joe Launchbury. Joe has had a great first season with the club and has shown impressive skills in his step-up to senior rugby, out-shining many of his opposite numbers.

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