WITHAM Rugby Club coach Dave Sarling was pleased to see the team's preparations are on track as they faced a mixed Chelmsford seconds and thirds side in a pre-season friendly.

The warm-up game was played to help Witham get ready for their new adventure in Essex League division one this season and it was also the first time they had played on the new first-team pitch at Spa Road after it was turned through 180 degrees.

The end result was a 19-14 defeat for the hosts but Sarling was pleased with what he saw.

He said: "We have trained long and hard throughout the pre-season and this game has proved to everyone at Witham that we are definitely on track this season.

"The whole team played exceptional well.

"Some players were coming back from injury so it was a good chance to see how they coped.

"The ball retention was excellent, the scrums were secure and the running lines excellent but there is still a lot of work to do before the first league game on September 3."

There was no early rustiness from Witham as they pushed hard at the Chelmsford line from the start.

They were the ones putting the pressure on their opponents and with a great pass from flanker Martyn Jones to centre Alex Beer saw him cross the line under the posts for the first try, which was converted by Luke Stanbridge.

The game had now started to open up and Witham had to defend, but Chelmsford went over the line and duly converted to level the scores.

Witham kept coming back, though, and some good foraging from Jones gave them a very good platform but there were no further scores before the break.

The second half started much in the same way as the first, but a penalty to Chelmsford saw them kick for touch and a solid maul allowed them to go over for a second converted try.

Witham went straight back at their opponents, though, closing down swiftly and forcing mistakes.

The forwards were knocking on the door and after two attempts, captain Steve Johansen went over the line for Witham's second try of the day that was again converted by Stanbridge.

With ten minutes to go, both teams went for the win but with a move that cut the Witham defence in two, Chelmsford went over a 19-14 lead.

Witham put in everything to get a third try, but it was not to be.