South Woodham Ferrers RFC U14’s

U 14 League Division 1 Match Report

Sunday 30^th November 2008

South Woodham 19 - 7  Barking

In only their first season in this division, South Woodham moved to second in the league table after an emphatic win today over Barking.

For the first 10 minutes play took place in and around the Barking 22 metre line.  Both sets of forwards gave no quarter and each ruck and maul was hard fought.  Dom Stevens, Jack Stacey, Sahil Gul and Matt Hills were central to the South Woodham drive, with both Conor Phillips and Lewis Bruniges peeling of the rucks effectively. Gradually Woodham moved nearer the opposition line but as they did so their cohesion went and Barking escaped with a series well positioned kicks.  Runs from Liam Fitt, Jack Stacey and Elliott Croft drove the play back on target but as half time approached the Barking line clicked and they went over after a number of phases of play.  At half time Woodham wondered how so much pressure and so much play in the Barking half had resulted in them being behind.

Within 3 minutes of the restart Woodham were level.  A searing run from Liam Fitt left the opposition for dead and an accurate conversion from Elliott Croft sealed the seven points.  With both sides so evenly matched it was no surprise to find most of the play in the second half on or around the half way line.  Near missed tries came from great runs and drives from Leo King, Jack Stacey, Conor Phillips and Liam Fitt. Nick Anderson dealt expertly with the numerous kicks over the top from Barking and at last the back line started moving as one unit.  A series of scrums were won and Angus Joyce fed the backs a constant stream of accurate passes.  Anthony Guyseman and Bradley Lee combined well to push the play into the Barking half.  With 5 minutes to go a flowing backs move sent the ball all the way down to Ollie Cooke who ran half the length of the pitch to touch down underneath the posts in order to help Elliott Croft out with the conversion.  Ollie Cooke now had a taste for scoring so when play went down the opposing wing, he switched sides, made the overlap and ran the ball in close to the touchline. 

At the end both coaches and parents applauded a titanic game in which Woodham showed strength of character, teamwork and sheer will to win.

Team: Tim Stack, Matt Hills, Dom Stevens, Elliott Croft, Jack Stacey, Sahil Gul, Leo King, Lewis Bruniges, Conor Phillips, Bradley Lee, Liam Fitt, Athony Guyseman, Angus Joyce, Nick Anderson, Ollie Cooke

Tries: Ollie Cooke 2, Liam Fitt 1.  Conversions: Elliott Croft

Match Report by Brian Pratt

Under 14’s Friendly

Sunday 23^rd November 2008

 South Woodham Ferrers 5 – 10 Chelmsford B

 Chelmsford are a large club with over 40 players on their books at our age group.  They have played in the first division for a number of years.  It was a remarkable achievement for our development side to get so close to beating them.  Two things stood out today, teamwork and the sheer enjoyment shown by all on the field, as Jason Spink said, “it was rugby with a smile on our faces.”

Right from the start we pressed forwards with some of the best rucking we have seen (the benefit of the extra training session was plain to see).  Tim Stack carried the ball well and was backed up manfully by Leo King, Matt Toner, Freddie Ellis and Jamie Beavington.  Ben pushed over the whole ruck on more than one occasion and he kept the play moving.  All of this provided a solid platform for our backs to attack whilst keeping the ball away from their backline for much of the first half.  There was a lot of communication from forwards to backs and Daniel Spink fed the ball out with great skill.  The ball moved down the line quickly (again, the practice the day before paid dividends as all the team were comfortable in their positions and had made their mistakes on the practice field - not on the match pitch).  A period of sustained pressure resulted in Angus Joyce crashing over on the wing.  Just before half time Chelmsford scored after being held up twice on the line by our defence.  At half time the game was finely balanced. 

The second half was played mainly on the halfway line which was a result of the even nature of the play.  Slowly it became clear that the only real advantage Chelmsford had over us was their kicking game, two or three of their players were adept at placing their kicks just behind our line.  Nick Anderson did very well to retrieve most of them and either kick or run the ball back.  Our lineout held up well and we stole a number of their put-ins.  Later on Chelmsford scored after a good two or three phases of forward play.

Even though we lost, all who watched the game applauded the standard of play on both sides.  Our team played for each other, backed each other up and encouraged each other constantly.  The final word belongs to Tim Stack, who said “that was the best game I have played in”.

Division One League Game

Sunday 16^th November 2008

South Woodham Ferrers 10-35 Romford

With an illness ravaged side South Woodham went down fighting in this U14 league fixture.

Right from the start Romford pressed on the South Woodham line and scored a try right in the left hand corner.  Steadily, South Woodham began to get themselves organised.  This was made doubly difficult with so many players playing out of position (particularly Anthony Gyseman, a late choice at Full Back).  Our normally rock solid scrum was put under pressure constantly but the boys stuck to their task.  Runs from Elliott Croft and Liam Fitt relieved the pressure.  Just as we were gaining the upper hand Romford ran in a try due to a timely interception by their centre.  As half time approached Woodham again pressed forward, the rucking was purposeful ( Matt Toner, Sahil Gul, Martin Lane, Dom Stevens and Matt Hills worked well together) and they provided a good platform for the backs to attack. Lewis Bruniges also made a number of important tackles and he linked well with the backs, this was a sterling effort given his illness. The ball came out to Elliott Croft who switched direction, fooled the opposition and passed out to Ollie Cooke who went over in the corner.  At half time the position looked good and our boys looked the equal of Romford’s full strength side.

In the second half Romford used the advantage of the slope to good effect and kept us pinned in our own half, utilising their speedy centre to maximum effect.  Slowly the points tally mounted up and the boys tired, with no substitutes available to provide fresh legs.  Still Woodham did not give up and a spell of strong pressure allowed Liam Fitt to crash over the line. As the game wore on it was clear that illness and unfamiliar playing positions were taking their toll and the final score bore no relation to the playing ability of the Woodham side. All of the coaches and parents were proud of the spirit shown by the side and as Coach Paul Phillips said, “Today was about character and even though we are all disappointed at losing the league points, everyone should be proud that they played their part.”

Tries:  Ollie Cooke, Liam Fitt

 South Woodham maintained their unbeaten run in the league in a match that ended early due to an injury to the Braintree full back.

For the first 10 minutes the play was confined to the Braintree half.  Good rucking by South Woodham pushed the ball close to the try line.  Although the ball was moved out of scrum and ruck efficiently by the Braintree backs, the Woodham line held and forced a number of handling errors.  Braintree then became more organised and kicked into the Woodham half.  Gradually Braintree moved forward, and as they broke through Liam Fitt held the ball up on the try line.  From the scrum Elliot Croft kicked clear over the line.  As the Woodham line moved forward from the line out, and, despite charging runs from Conor Phillips and Lewis Bruniges, Braintree counter attacked and ran in for a try.  From the restart, play became more even, good running from the Woodham backs, including Bradley Lee and Ollie Cooke, was met with solid resistance from Braintree.  As a Woodham move broke down, Braintree gathered the ball and the centre ran over for a try under the posts.  The conversion was easy and left Woodham 12 points adrift with 5 minutes to half time. After the restart Woodham forced a line out, Conor Phillips caught the ball, which went down the line as far as Liam Fitt who ran straight in for a try under the posts, leaving most of the Braintree backs in his wake.  Elliot Croft converted and brought the first half to a close.

The second half was evenly matched.  David Bird, on for Nick Anderson, picked up a difficult kick and began the move that resulted in Woodham’s second try.  Woodham pushed the ball towards the Braintree half and forced their full back to knock on.  The scrum delivered the ball to Angus Joyce who sent it down the line, when it came to Liam Fitt,  he reversed direction, ran around the now redundant scrum and drove hard for the line.  As he ran Conor Phillips stuck to his shoulder and as Liam Fitt was tackled he was on hand to lift the ball and drive over.  The kick was a difficult one and Elliott narrowly missed the nearside post.  The game was now neatly poised at 12-12. Braintree attacked from the kick and forced a 22 drop out from Woodham.  Play became a little scrappy with a number of unforced errors on each side.  With 10 minutes to go Woodham counter attacked with a brilliant kick from Liam Fitt, Conor Phillips gathered and drove forward.  However, the Braintree full back was so intent on collecting the high ball from Liam Fitt that he did not see his own centre and they collided heavily.  The referee, with the agreement of both coaches, brought the game to a premature end with honours even, so that medical attention could be sought.  The game was played in good spirit and we wish the Braintree player a speedy recovery.

Tries: Liam Fitt, Conor Phillips.  Conversion: Elliott Croft

SWFRFC Under 14’s v Chelmsford Division 1 League Match 21/9/08

South Woodham Ferrers 19  - 12  Chelmsford

For two years this Chelmsford side had been unbeaten in both league and cup games.  As a newly promoted side South Woodham must have appeared to be there for the taking, one more game to add to the impressive run of wins.  Three tries and two conversions soon changed all of that.

For the first twenty minutes Chelmsford were pinned down in their own half.  Tireless work by the pack and slick passing from the backs not only gained territory but also disrupted Chelmsford’s game.  Impressive runs from Conor Phillips, Lewis Bruniges, Ollie Cook and Elliott Croft kept the momentum going.  Chelmsford were being beaten in every department of the forward’s game, lineout, scrum, ruck and maul.  They were rattled and making elementary errors, many of which attracted the attention of the referee. Woodham’s first try was the result of sustained pressure on Chelmsford’s five metre line in which Sahil Gul, Josh Rainey and Jack Stacey figured highly. After many tantalising runs in which the whole Woodham back line frightened the life out of the Chelmsford coaches, Matthew Salter went over in the corner and Elliott Croft converted.  Now at last Chelmsford could be allowed to make the trip to the Woodham half of the pitch, courtesy of the re-start!  Late on in the first half Chelmsford began to regroup and justify their record of wins.  After a quickly taken free kick, some hard running by the Chelmsford line and despite a crunching tackle by Nick Anderson, Chelmsford produced a fine try on the stroke of half time.  

The second half started as the first had begun, Chelmsford were forced into making handling errors and Woodham produced the more fluid rugby using many well rehearsed set piece moves. Still the game was being played out in the Chelmsford half.  After 10 minutes Liam Fitt and Matthew Salter conspired to send Ollie Cook over the try line. 12-5 to Woodham.  From the restart Chelmsford found their game again and their outside centre scored after making a brilliant interception.  The conversion was easy. 12 apiece!  The game now became more even.  Both teams began to tire, mistakes became more frequent but it was always Woodham who looked the more likely to win.   It was as if this once great Chelmsford team were still on their summer holidays!  With 8 minutes to go Woodham were rewarded for a period of intense pressure.  They won a scrum against the head, the ball flew one way down the line and then the other, the forwards made ground but it was Angus Joyce the scrum half who when passed the ball surged over the Chelmsford line.  Elliott Croft again converted and the job was done!

The Masai warriors in Kenya believe that if you show the bravery to kill a lion in one to one combat and eat its heart you take on the characteristics of the lion. I think SWF under 14s just did that to Chelmsford, but they also started on the pitch with more pride , and sheer will to win - showing that even the ostensibly unbeatable can be beaten if you have the heart!

SWF Under 14’s Team

Alfie Anderson, Lewis Bruniges, Sahil Gul, Matthew Hills, Leo King, Martin Lane, Jonathon Leong, Callum McCarthy, Conor Phillips, Josh Rainey, Jack Stacey, Dom Stevens, Matthew Toner, Stuart Tyler, Ollie Cook, Elliott Croft, Liam Fitt, Anthony Gyseman, Angus Joyce, Haydn Lock, Reece Murphy, Matthew Salter, Sean Saville, Nicholas Anderson, David Bird, Freddie Ellis, Bradley Lee, Daniel Spink, Tim Stack.