South Woodham Ferrers RFC v’s Chingford

South Woodham Ferrers welcomed London 1 North league leaders to Saltcoates the weekend. It might have been a game that no-one really expected the home side to win but with no fewer than 19 squad players injured or unavailable, it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Nevertheless the home side put in a very strong performance, playing with real heart and passion going down 12 points to 44 against the only London 1 North side with a 100% record.

After a bright start the home found themselves 10 nil down as Chingfords clinical finishers punished some lapses in the home sides defensive line. The lads recovered well and were soon on the attack driving hard into a strong Chingford defence. As the game ebbed and flowed Woodhams first real scoring opportunity came when Warren Duggan intercepted a loose pass to race within 10 metres of the Chingford line. Sadly there was not enough support to capitalise on his run and Chingford were able to clear their line.

Two more tries from the well organised Chingford attack might have been the signal for the Woodham teams heads to drop. This was not the case and Woodham looked the stronger side as the second half drew to a close, their effort was rewarded when Duggan again intercepted a loose pass and raced in to score with a spectacular dive over the line. The half ended with Woodham down 22 points to 5, a score line that was more a reflection of Chingfords better finishing power than any one sided dominance.

Chingford opened the second half scoring with a well worked try following on from a penalty. Not to be outdone Woodham hit straight back with a period of attacking play that should have seen them score more than the 7 points they were able to accrue. For 20 minutes Woodham were camped in the Chingford half, pressing hard for the score, only to be held out by Chingford defence. Three yellow cards for the visitors was an indication of the pressure they were under as time after time the Woodham attack pressed forward.

It was Neil Gittos who finally broke through from very close range to score a well deserved try which Alex Baker converted. The efforts must have taken a huge amount out of the lads and as the half drew towards its conclusion Chingford were able to show why they are top of the league. They scored three times in quick succession, exploiting some missed tackles and tired legs in the Woodham defensive line.
The final whistle came with the score at 12 points to 44.

In the previous two games Woodham may have deserved to go down to such a big score. This was not the case this weekend, they played with more passion and intensity than we have seen for some weeks. Who knows what may have been possible if they had been able to field a full strength side. There were some very strong performances across the whole side; man of the match Ross Noakes had another stormer of a game, Alex Baker (Woodhams very own Mathew Tait) grew into his latest role at fly-half and a very special mention has to made for the evergreen Harvey Witzer who, at 50 plus, has to be one of the oldest player to have played at such a high level.