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East crowned 2025 Southern Regional Men's Carnival winners

East crowned 2025 Southern Regional Men's Carnival winners

Home advantage counts as East notch up their first regional championship win!

The East of England’s representative Rugby League side is celebrating its first Southern Regional Carnival win, upsetting pre-tournament favourites London and 2024 winners the Midlands to take the title on a memorable afternoon at Old Brentwoods sports club in Essex.

The East become the third different winner of the carnival since the current format was adopted three years ago. The Southern Regional Carnival was created as part of a drive to create a stronger performance pathway for men’s community players outside the North of England. It doubles as a trial for the Southern representative side and, ultimately, the England Community Lions side – a team historically dominated by players from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Humberside.

This year, the Southern representative side, which will be made up of players who featured in the carnival, will play two post-season games, with footage of both being sent to the England Community Lions selection panel for assessment. The ‘South’ will face Australia & New Zealand Exiles at Wasps RFC (October 11), before travelling across the Severn Bridge to take on Wales Dragonhearts at Neath RFC (October 18).

Sunday’s Southern Regional Carnival provided plenty for the Southern representative side’s coaching and management team to ponder. There were fine performances across the park from players of all three regional sides, with tempers fraying on occasion across all three tightly fought games.

 

Game 1: London 12-16 East

In the first of the carnival’s three games, which were played to lightly modified rules (50-minute games with 25 minute halves, with no conversions after tries to speed up play), the East produced a stunning late comeback sparked by an incredible, near length-of-the-field try from North Herts Crusaders winger Callum Dockrill.

The East started poorly, with early errors forcing them to defend consecutive sets deep in their own territory. London probed and prodded but couldn’t find a way through East’s scrambling defence in the opening five minutes. As all good sides do, East turned defence into attack, working their way down field before creating an opportunity for Brentwood Eels centre Kye Jacobson to cross for the game’s opening try.

London forced an East error from the restart, before piling on the pressure in the set of six that followed. Prop Adam Dady (Medway Dragons) forced his way over between the posts to level the scores, before West Warriors’ second-rower Tyler Johnson –Thomas surged through a gap to touch down out wide following some neat passing play.

It looked like London would hold onto their slender lead until half time, but with the clock ticking down East hit back. Following some barnstorming, line-breaking forward runs, the ball was worked wide for Canvey Knights’ flier Alfie Justice to touch down.

Following a tough, closely contested opening 15 minutes of the second half, London edged ahead once more when skipper Mason O’Neill calmly finished off a slick left-to-right passing move. With less than 10 minutes of the game to go, they led by four points and were on track for a win.

The match changed less than two minutes later. Following a decent attacking set of six by London, a probing cross field kick landed in the hands of East winer Callum Dockrill. Stepping past the onrushing defenders, he sped off down the right wing to score a stunning solo try that levelled the scores.

Both sides pushed to find the winning score, but it was the East who found it with seconds remaining. On the last tackle, the ball was worked to the short side and Eastern Rhinos centre Charlie Randall. He squeezed in, touching down inches from the left touchline to secure a win that looked so unlikely just eight minutes earlier.

 

Game 2: East 20 – 8 Midlands

Following their last-gasp heroics in game one, the East knew that a win over 2024 champions the Midlands would secure them the title on home soil. They eventually prevailed followed an inspired second half display, but it was a different story in the first half.

It was the Midlands who struck the first blow, Oxford Cavaliers centre Andrew Prosser breaking the line following a superb inside pass before sprinting away to score. The East replied through standout half back Will Randall, who delivered dazzling footwork and a number of outrageous dummies on the way to a superb solo score, before taking the lead with four minutes of the first half remaining via a well-worked try from Kye Jacobson. That lead didn’t last long though, with Sherwood Wolfhunt prop Luke Fisher forcing his away over from close range to ensure parity at half time.

The two sides traded blows early in the second period without a decisive intervention, before a superb break from Brentwood Eels full back Callum Whitcombe created the position for player-of-the-match Will Randall to grab his second try of the game. With the Midlands tiring, the East scored twice in the closing stages – Eastern Rhinos winger David Bofenda finishing off a Matthew Toothill break, and Ryan Whitcombe racing away to score after catching a poor goal-line drop out from the Midlands – to secure their first Southern Regional Carnival title.

 

Game 3: Midlands 16-16 London

With the weather taking a turn for the worse and the title already decided, the Midlands and London played out a scrappy 16-all draw. London had been all set to take a consolation win until Sherwood Wolfhunt winger Matt Cahill scored less than a minute from full time.

It was initially the Midlands who made the running, with the 2024 champions grinding out an 8-0 win over the 2023 winners in the opening 15 minutes. Sherwood Wolfhunt second-rower Max Hayes opened the scoring after collecting a neat inside pass, before Midlands skipper Coryn Ward (Nottingham Outlaws) extended the advantage.

Yet five minutes later, the scores were level again. Veteran winger Alex Baptiste-Wilson (Elmbridge Eagles) scored twice in three minutes, the second after collecting a long, loopy pass above his head before crashing over the whitewash. London pressed home their advantage two minutes from half time when West Warriors centre George Jackson powered over on the right.

It took the Midlands just five minutes of the second half to regain parity, centre Andrew Prosser capping a fine afternoon with another score. The game remained all-square going into the final ten minutes, in part due to a number of weary handling errors from both sides. Five minutes from time, Medway Dragons hooker George Moore thought he had won it for London, but Matt Cahill’s late heroics salvaged a draw for the Midlands.

 

2025 Southern Carnival Action 2

 

MATCH FACTS:

Game 1

London 12

Tries: Adam Dady, Tyler Johnson, Mason O’Neill

East 16

Tries: Kye Jacobson, Aifie Justice, Callum Dockrill, Charlie Randall

Game 2

East 20

Tries: Will Randall 2, Kye Jacobson, David Bofenda, Ryan Whitcombe

Midlands 8

Tries: Andrew Prosser, Luke Fisher

Game 3

Midlands 16

Tries: Max Hayes, Coryn Ward, Andrew Prosser, Matt Cahill

London 16

Tries: Alex Baptiste-Wilson 2, George Jackson, George Moore

 

Full Regional Playing Squads below:

East

1. Callum Whitcome (Brentwood Eels), 2. Callum Dockrill (North Herts Crusaders), 3. Kye Jacobson (Brentwood Eels), 4. Charlie Randall (Eastern Rhinos), 5. Ryan Whitcombe (Brentwood Eels); 6. Will Randall (Eastern Rhinos), 7. Jack Brown (Bedford Tigers); 8. Greg Short (Eastern Rhinos), 9. Will Evans (North Herts Crusaders). 10. Euan Tiernan (Brentwood Eels), 11. Rob Williams (Eastern Rhinos), 12. Ed Brown (Bedford Tigers), 13. Jake Tilford (Bedford Tigers) Interchange: 14. Alfie Justice (Canvey Knights), 15. Matthew Toothill (Brentwood Eels), 16. Georgie Treffers (Brentwood Eels), 17. Tommy Justice (Canvey Knights), 18. Connor Perry (Brentwood Eels), 19. Harry Dines (Eastern Rhinos), 20. David Boffenda (Eastern Rhinos)

London

1. Oli Baptiste-Wilson (Elmbridge Eagles), 2. Caleb Adetona (London Chargers), 3. George Jackson (West Warriors), 4. Mason O’Neill (Medway Dragons), 5. Louis Baker (Medway Dragons); 6. Shay Flanagan (London Chargers), 7. Luke Drummond (Elmbridge Eagles); 8. Adam Dady (Medway Dragons), 9. Doug Chirnside (London Chargers), 10. Tyler Long (Hemel Stags), 11. Tyler Johnson –Thomas (West Warriors), 12. Dom Aston (Elmbridge Eagles), 13. Alex Russell (Medway Dragons) Interchange: 14. George Moore (Medway Dragons), 15. Jake Cummins (Elmbridge Eagles), 16. Alex Baptiste-Wilson (Elmbridge Eagles), 17. Jack Harbridge (Hemel Stags), 18. Joe Hales (Elmbridge Eagles), 19. Ugo Onyeji (Brixton Bulls), 20. Toby Gerdes-Hansen (Medway Dragons)

Midlands

1. Olly Pope (Telford Raiders), 2. Matt Cahill (Sherwood Wolfhunt), 3. Andrew Prosser (Oxford Cavaliers), 4. Dan Robinson (Telford Raiders), 5. Sosa Migan (Birmingham Bulldogs); 6. Liam Fussell (Telford Raiders), 7. Dillon Goddard (Sherwood Wolfhunt); 8. Oz Kirwen (Coventry Bears), 9. James Jenner (Sherwood Wolfhunt), 10. Jack Jonson (Nottingham Outlaws), 11. Joe Bunting (Sherwood Wolfhunt), 12. Max Hayes (Sherwood Wolfhunt), 13. Coryn Ward (Nottingham Outlaws) Interchange: 14. Kyle Jones (Leamington Royals), 15. Josh Ewhubare (Birmingham Bulldogs), 16. Jack Hodson (Staffordshire Quantums), 18. Archie Wilson (Sherwood Wolfhunt), 20. Luke Fisher (Sherwood Wolfhunt)

 

Story by Matt Anniss (Combined Southern Regions Media Manager)

Article image - Credit: Brad Hirons

In article image - Credit: RLF Photography