After a great team effort against Aylesford Bulls and an impressive victory over Kent rivals Park House, the Blue and Golds set out on a long trek across country to take on the Anchorians, hoping for a good outcome. It was a mixed result. Conditions were mild and the cross-wind made little difference to either side. Both teams looked to running the ball and testing each others' defences. Eastbourne started slowly and were shocked by an early home try which was converted. First blood to Gillingham.

Picking themselves up a few minutes later with excellent work by scrum-half Pysden, Eastbourne replied with a fine try by No 8 James Grey, now fully recovered from his injuries. Ben Barter converted. Gillingham looked very dangerous with quick ball from the scrum-half and excellent running from their no 14. After a quarter of an hour Gillingham added to their score with a well-struck penalty in front of the posts as Eastbourne infringed. At this point the home team seemed to be dominant and the visitors, try as they might could not get past the solid Gillingham defence. On the half-hour the Kent side added a further try and conversion.

Eastbourne in a rare excursion into the opponent's territory missed a glorious opportunity to claw back points. There was a lack urgency to the Blue and Golds' play contrasted with the vigour and determination shown by their adversaries.Despite good intentions Eastbourne were executing their moves badly. Half-time saw Gillingham lead by 17-7. Despite good play at mauls and rucks Eastbourne kept losing possession to quick-thinking opponents. The scrum went reasonably well despite a brief stoppage to play when Liam Goldsmith went off for repairs. He soon came back on to lead some stirring charges up field. James Grey and Gav Farley were also prominent. The front row held up well and one or two drives in the set piece enabled Pysden to disrupt the flow of ball to the home side's backs.

On the hour Gillingham penetrated Eastbourne's defences for a converted try. Eastbourne had definitely gone off the boil at this point and their only riposte was a fine penalty by Ben Barter who was having an excellent game on his return to the side. With twenty minutes to go the boys from Kent added to their score with a five-pointer. They led 29-10. Eastbourne seemed on the verge of collapse when Nick King went off with a bang on the head. But substitutes Backler and Hiremutt came on and the pace seemed to change. At last Eastbourne woke up and started playing with coherence and grit. A Pysden try under the posts, converted by Barter and a Stef Cousins effort also converted led to a more respectable final score of 29-24. Had Eastbourne started the game as well as they ended, the result might well have been different. This was not the satisfactory note to end the year on, but, nevertheless this match points us in the right direction for some interesting battles to come in 2016. Man of the Match Ben Barter.

Team: Keen, Sinclair, Goldsmith, Farley, Motttram, Redman, Grey, van Bentham, Pysden, Barter, Smith, Cousins, Clarke (capt), Stevenson, King, Backler, Hiremutt.