South Woodham Ferrers RFC V Wymondham 11th January 2020

South Woodham Ferrers RFC opened the decade with a hard-fought match against mid-table rivals Wymondham. Sadly, the lads came off second best going down by 27 points to 21. Despite the results the home side will be buoyed by a fantastic second half performance in which they were largely dominant despite being down to 14 men. If they had taken their chances in the closing quarter the result could easily have been a win.

The game opened with the usual slow start for Woodham and Wymondham were quick to capitalise with an early try, missing out on the extra points when the conversion was scuffed wide. The home team were slowly getting into their stride but struggled to get the scrum going against a very heavy Wymondham pack. Indeed, it was from a scrum penalty that the visitors got their next score with an easy kick in front of the posts to go eight points up.

Woodham hit back with some good attacking play and were rewarded with a penalty just inside the opposition half. Against the wind Alex Baker slotted the kick to open the home sides account.

There had been some tetchy moments during the early encounters and the underlying tension bubbled to the top when James Wilson was red carded for a hit on the Wymondham fly half as he took a free kick. The resulting penalty was punted deep into the Woodham half. The visitors scored their second try from a maul following the resulting line out.
Woodhams next scoring opportunity came late in the half with another difficult penalty, Baker managing to bounce the ball back off the crossbar allowing the defence to clear. The half ended with visitors up 15 points to 3.
The second half proved to be far more interesting for the home sides supporters as the lads fought hard to get back on terms. Alex Baker slotted another penalty to open the scoring, but Wymondham were able to stretch their lead as they were gifted an interception try when scrum half Kieran Ballinger attempted a long pass to get the Woodham backs into the game. Baker hit back soon after with another penalty.
A third Wymondham try from a maul close to the Woodham line seemed to have put the seal on the game, but this was not the case. Despite being down a man Woodham played the conditions much better than the visitors and their attack started to dominate the tiring Wymondham pack.

Sammy Sharp was first to cross the line for the home team with a well-deserved try which was converted and minutes later Warren Duggan crashed over for Woodhams second to bring the home side within six points.

The closing ten minutes saw Woodham hammering at the visitor’s line as they tried to get the winning score. The close finish was made more exciting as the visitors gave away penalty after penalty and as a result were reduced to 13 men. Some might argue that these multiple infringements occurring within the Wymondham 5 metre line warranted a penalty try but the referee was having nothing of it. The game ended with a turnover when Woodham were just inches shy of the line.

The home team showed great resolve in their fight back and on another day might have come away with the win. The forwards played their hearts out despite being a man down and the backs showed that with good, quick ball they can be very threatening.

Congratulations to men of the match Jordan Harper & Alex Baker