U13 Win at Canvey Island

A rejuvenated South Woodham Ferrers team were greeted by glorious sunshine as they faced Canvey Island on Sunday.
The First half saw SWF dominating the scrum and breakdown albeit against a significantly larger pack. It did not seem to make a difference which side had the put in as most were won by SWF against the head. This was due in part to the best hooking display we have seen so far from George PK and a superb, cohesive effort from the tight five of Aaron, George PK, Jack, Josh and Jimmy. This was followed by some impressive work at the break down particularly from Ethan, Jimmy and Jack with Josh putting in some big hits where required. The platform created by the forwards generated space for Nathan and Ozzy to spread the ball at pace, culminating in the opportunity for the ubiquitous George M to score the first try. This was followed by a second from Ozzy (in his first game at fly half) as he burst through a group of Canvey players to score. Dan, Ollie and Archie, continued to create chances and were proving a handful for the opposition. Only some last minute handling errors prevented a wider margin at half time.

The second half saw a resurgent home team. Starved of possession in the first half the Canvey forwards started to have some success at he breakdown as SWF showed some uncharacteristic complacency. It was clear that Canvey had some experienced and dangerous players in the backs and immediately after half time a couple of missed tackles allowed the stand out home player to sprint from halfway and score. 12 - 7 SWF. The first half pressure game that had served the boys well in the first half transcended into a midfield battle of attrition with George M, Nathan and Ethan putting in some heavy tackles and Jack, Owen, Jimmy & Aaron demonstrating some good work at the loose. Both teams had some success on the break with Ollie going close on occasion. A mix of Canvey pressure and disappointing SWF tackling again allowed their 10 to sprint through from halfway to score, despite the valiant attempts of Ethan. The conversion made it 14-12 to the home side and it was game on.

With 10 minutes to go we lamented how we could be losing a game that we had dominated for long periods. Could SWF have thrown this one away? How could we have doubted them! This team is made of sterner stuff, they were tired but they weren't beaten. The experienced heads marshalled by Captain Aaron, rallied the troops and started to exert pressure as they had in the first half. A sublime one handed pick up and blind side run from our scrum half even had the Canvey forwards coach applauding as Nathan crashed over the line for the winning try. SWF were down a man for the last five minutes as the influential George M left the field but it did not alter the course of the match,it was South Woodham Ferrers day and a deserved victory.

The performance was a significant improvement from the last game and was particularly pleasing as the boys started to demonstrate some of the things practiced in training.

Thanks to Canvey for being good hosts and for congratulations to them for a spirited fight back. Special thanks to all of the parents and First Aider (Jackie) for their support