TWRUFC 1st XV 34 vs Sidcup 18

6th Sep 2025, KO 15:00

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Match Report

Thanet Wanderers kicked off their league season in style with a 34–18 victory over Sidcup at the Recreation Ground, a performance full of grit, attacking intent and flashes of real quality.

The home crowd didn’t have long to wait for a breakthrough. Just two minutes in, Sidcup were forced into an early goal-line drop-out. Nick Herbert was first to the kick, and with quick thinking chipped ahead, regathered, and dived over for a superb solo try. Tom Walton calmly slotted the conversion and Wanderers had the dream start, 7–0 up.

Sidcup responded with purpose, pressing hard after 10 minutes, but a decision to keep the ball in tight rather than move it wide allowed Thanet’s defence to scramble and hold firm. Their patience was rewarded with a penalty on 17 minutes, narrowing the score to 7–3. Another penalty on 35 minutes brought the visitors within a point, and at 7–6 it looked as though the half would end evenly poised.

But Thanet had other ideas. With the last play of the half, No. 8 Ben Cannon surged off the back of a scrum, powering through tackles before feeding Andy Letts, who finished strongly to send the crowd into half-time cheers with Wanderers 12–6 ahead.

Wanderers almost struck again straight from the restart, as Louis Marshall’s charge nearly brought a try. The home side kept their foot on the gas and extended the lead with a penalty six minutes into the second half (15–6).

Sidcup hit back with their best spell of the game, putting together sustained phases to score a converted try on 52 minutes, dragging the score back to 15–13 and setting up a tense battle.

That tension didn’t last long. Just four minutes later, Cannon tore through the defence to restore Wanderers’ advantage with their third try. By the hour mark, the Wanderers faithful were on their feet again as Colts graduate Owen Long, making his first-team debut, capped a brilliant performance with the all-important bonus-point try. Walton’s boot stretched the lead to 27–13.

Sidcup refused to roll over and claimed a late third try to keep the game alive at 27–18, but Wanderers finished with a flourish. On 76 minutes, the tireless Marshall chased down a kick and got his reward with a try under the posts. Walton added the conversion to round off a 34–18 victory.

It was a statement performance from Wanderers: strong teamwork, a sharp cutting edge in attack, and resilience when Sidcup threatened a comeback.

Next Saturday, Thanet are back at the Recreation Ground to host Vigo, where they’ll look to build on this winning start.