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SWF RUFC WEEKLY ROUNDUP
SWF RFC U16 vs Thames
This week Woodham travelled away to
Thames. This would be the team’s first
visit to the Thames ground in South
Ockendon, with the Thames team
being formed from some of the u16’s
from the Stanford team that folded
this season.
Woodham received the kick off on a
nice flat pitch, with the Autumn sun
beating down in stark contrast to
yesterday’s downpours. Woodham
pushed hard from the off and were
soon encamped deep into the hosts
22. The scrum was working well and
dominating the Thames pack. The
first of Woodham’s try’s came after 7 minutes.
The forwards won the ball at the scrum and punching through split the
Thames defence. The ball quickly out to the backs and H broke free
opening his legs to drive for the corner. With 2 defenders chasing him
down it looked like he wasn’t going to make the line, but tackled across he
kept control of the ball long enough to apply downward pressure. After a
discussion with the touch judge the try was awarded. Rhino took the
conversion but with this missed the early lead was 5-0.
The early try seemed to shake the home side, and Woodham continued to
apply the pressure from the restart. The home side cracked after 4 minutes
of Woodham attack and Woodham’s second try came from Nathan. This
time Rhino’s conversion was good and Woodham’s lead stretched to 12-0.
The Woodham pack continued to dominate the scrum, but both sides were
struggling with the throw at the lineout, with the referee not giving any
leeway to either side. Woodham’s lifting was on point and the jumpers
were being held high for long enough to win the ball. Woodham force 2
errors on the home side at 18 and 21 minutes, with Woodham being
awarded penalty’s and electing to take the points with both kicks good.
The score now 18-0 with 14 minutes of the half left.
More of the same continued and Woodham managed to get another score
before the end of the half on 27 minutes. Again the forwards working hard
at the breakdown to secure/win the ball and getting it out to the backs
saw Redmond cross the line. Again the conversion was good and the score
remained unchanged at 25-0 as the half time whistle blew.
Woodham took the kick off to start the second half and were firmly pushing
again into the Thames 22. Woodham’s pressure taking its toll on the hosts,
another well worked set piece saw Gerrard push though the Thames
defence to cross within 2 minutes of the restart. The conversion from Rhino
good, Woodhams lead extended to 32-0.
Woodham dominated the hosts for the remained of the game and 2
minutes later saw the deciding try of the match through scrum half Jim
under the posts. The conversion taking the score to 39-0, the match was
concluded in line with this seasons league rules. The home side elected to
play on with the score not counting and Woodham moved players into
different positions to mix things up.
The home side didn’t give up and pushed the Woodham team hard, looking
like a different team for the last 20 minutes. However, Woodham still
managed to score several more converted try’s before the end of the 70
minutes.
The whole team worked hard today, with only the Woodham scrum tiring
in the last 10 minutes being one of the things to work on in training this
coming week. Man of the Match could have gone to any of the players,
but Redmond stood out with his drive, tackles and crossing for one of the
try’s of the game. Eddie getting donkey of the week through dropping
the ball as he crossed the line for what would have been his first try for
Woodham.
SWF RFC U13 vs Westcliff
Great game today from the boys whose scrummaging was excellent. The
pack was changed around today just before the match due to injury of Jack
who was missed today. Josh, Lukian and Mitchell formed a new front row
and they gelled well, Hayden and Cody were the locks and we tried Big
Joe as No 8. Once they formed a plan to lock out and absorb the first
shove, they then pushed as a unit and at that point there was no stopping
them. Numerous times the ref had to stop the scrum because the “Woods”
had pushed Westcliff back more than 1 metre (Age related safety rule)
which is a massive achievement. With some hooking practise this pack will
be a force to be reckoned with.
Westcliff had a couple of very talented players who would not have been
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out of place in a Division 1 team. As a result they were able to put a couple
of scores on the board. What followed though was a fantastic effort from
Hayden who made his debut for the team today and topped it off with a
fantastic try.
Westcliff pushed back hard but then the boys rucking started to show
results opening up a gap for Noah to push through and score a well-earned
try.
A clash of heads left Woodham without Cody and Dan for some time and
Westcliff capitalised on 2 of our powerhouses being off the pitch. Cody
showed great spirit and demanded to get back on the pitch but was not
allowed and went off for a check-up. We wish him well. Tom came on and
got stuck in with some crunching tackles on players much bigger than
himself and reminded everyone why he’s such a good tackler.
The rest of the team stepped up with George and James trying to put some
plays together and motivate their team. They fed into the centres who
were doing everything possible to smash through Westcliff’s defence.
Noah, Dan (who’d returned to the pitch) and Nathan linked in well and put
in some good attacking plays. This created space for Ewan and Presley on
the wings who not only put in some testing runs but also put in some try
saving tackles. The effort being put into training by the boys is starting to
pay off with the ball being passed more regularly out to the wings.
James Skelt’s leadership and manner with the match officials was the
subject of positive comment and when the issue of Westcliff pushing in the
scrum too early was raised, this was listened to by the ref and acted upon.
George played out of his skin today and was everywhere. What’s more he
is developing brilliantly into the role of a scrum half by co-ordinating the
forwards in the rucks and getting a grip of every situation. We’ve created
a monster!! He repeatedly stifled the play of the opposition scrum half at
the scrum with some crunching tackles. Such was his influence that he was
awarded the ”Stinky Boot of Love” as man of the match.
Just before half time, Woodham were on the charge with at least 7 phases
of crash ball being strung together. The Westcliff defence were strong but
could not stand up to the intelligent fast ball being played and Dan crashed
over the line. Unfortunately, the TMO ruled that the ball had been held up
and the try was cruelly disallowed.
Not being put off, the “Woods” knuckled down and hit them again. Joe
took the ball into contact and forced a number of their players to commit
in order to bring him down, his quick thinking and playing the ball up
allowed Noah to drive on the attack and muscle his way through the
Westcliff defence to score his 2nd try of the match.
In the later stages of the match, Joe showed what a danger he can be. He
was put in the position of No8 for the first time today with the intention of
using his speed and power off the back of the scrum. This is a new concept
for the boys and it shows real promise for the future. Joe ran in the final
try for Woodham showing superb strength and determination by driving
through at least 4 players to score.
The final score 8 – 4 to Westcliff does not reflect how close the game was.
The boys came together as a team today and did themselves proud. At
every break of play they were huddled in together motivating each other
and showing a fantastic level of commitment and group determination.
There’s much to be proud of here and with the squad enlarging and
experience growing, it is just a matter of time before Woodham makes
some significant wins.
SWF RFC U10 vs Burnham, and Old Cooperians
Two teams turned up to play us. Burnham making the short trip, and Old
Coops ( with two teams ) making the longer journey.
Our squad was Brad, Ellis, Hayden, Keith, Luca, and Noah.
Old Coops up first. Some great rugby, plenty of effort, good skills and
rewarding to see some very enjoyable tries scored by both teams. Rucking
and mauling still improving with practise.
Old Coops again for the second game. A tougher proposition. The game
was faster and more physical. Both Teams played well and showed terrific
phases where it looked, smelt and felt like rugby...….brilliant. We needed
to play a player down for part of the game due to knocks and niggle, but
the Team dealt with this and rose to the challenge. Ellis tracking back the
length of the pitch to make try saving tackle on our line, then we win the
turnover, and go the full length to score - WOW!!!
Burnham for the last game. Everyone was blowing hard by this time, so we
cut the game time down. Some great passing and movement. The game
got pretty lose for both teams, and plenty of space opened up. Both teams
took advantage of this when someone's energy allowed.
Well done all the players on the day. Another step forward. Happy Days!
We are always looking to grow the squad. Please contact Gerry on 07880
498565 if you have, or know an U10 who wants to play rugby.