Esher waste no time in bouncing back up
ESHER prop Matt Lowes says securing promotion back to National One against their title rivals Dorking in a big win last weekend was the perfect way to seal the National Two East title.
The Surrey side return to the third tier after a yoyo few seasons that has seen them flip between National One and Two.
Expectation and pressure was on Esher from the outset with the group, led by director of rugby Peter Winterbottom, heavy favourites to win promotion.
However, an opening day 39-38 loss to Barnes, which was followed by a 22-17 loss away at Bury St Edmunds in October, signalled that it wouldn’t be as easy as many had expected.
Barnes and Dorking proved to be their title rivals after Bury St Edmunds had been in the running but endured a torrid losing run in the second half of their season.
Lowes, 30, says securing their hard fought title win last weekend in a seesaw, entertaining 50-28 victory in front of a bumper crowd of 1,415 was the icing on the cake of a fine campaign.
He told The Rugby Paper: “It was a fantastic day. The expectation on us was to bounce back to National One but we got off to a tough start. Fortunately we regrouped, going on a 13-match win streak between October and March which put us in a great position.
“Dorking were a challenge and it was a very even first half. At the start of the second half they were camped on our try line for 10 minutes but we were defending really well which I think took a lot of energy and belief out of them. Eventually they did score but we went and scored four more unanswered tries in the second half. To beat our title rivals to win the trophy is the best possible way to do it.”
Lowes has made 16 appearances this season, scoring a try in a win over Old Albanians in September and is fast approaching his 150th club appearance after spending eight seasons at Molesey Road.
The much-loved fixture in the front row is enjoying the environment created by former England flanker Winterbottom.
He said: “It’s a great club to play at and I’m looking forward to seeing how we go next season in National One. There’s a real sense of togetherness within the group and Wints is great because he operates with a real stand-off approach and lets the boys get on with it. He provides his wisdom when needed but has showed trust in the group to make the right calls when necessary.”
A key to the club’s success is their free scoring attack with 1,004 points accumulated from 24 outings heading into this weekend, averaging 42 per game. Star fly-half Sam Morley is enjoying another stellar season after finishing last season as the top points scorer in National One.
Morley was third in the points scoring charts (223) heading into this weekend, while top try scorer, winger James Botterill scored 30 in just 19 matches this season.