Woodham face Thurrock

This week the boys were away at Thurrock for what seemed like a summers day rather than the beginning of spring. The boys were short this week with a number of boys away or sustaining injuries outside of rugby.

There were to be 3 matches of 10 minutes per half. Woodham had 6 U11's and 2 U10's so Thurrock loaned Woodham a player, ASBO, to make up the numbers. The boys started well, although soon were drawn into the ball and leaving gaps on the wings. Tackling was good, although a number of time both sides were a little high. Both sides played well at the breakdown and there was some good rucking. At the end of the half Woodham were trailing by 1 with all to play for and the score at 3-2. Thurrock taking full advantage of the space Woodham were leaving them on the wing. Woodham tries came from Ben and Ryan.

The second half saw some better play by Woodham with the team using the space slightly more. However they still hadn't learnt from their mistakes in the first half and again let Thurrock round the outside. Woodham kept the pressure on and this bared fruit with Rhino crossing the line for Woodham. Rucking was much improved, but the tackle was still causing Woodham problems, and the referee made Woodham pay for their mistakes. Score at the final whistle was 5-3 to Thurrock.

The second game saw a much improved Woodham take to the field. Again Woodham were short a player and Thurrock lent us another player, Isobelle. Woodham were right up in the faces of Thurrock and under the pressure Thurrock made a number of mistakes to allow Woodham to take possession. However they were kept out by an excellent Thurrock defence. Woodham again drove the attack and support play from the boys improved, allowing Woodham to score twice to Thurrock's 1 in response. At half time Woodham were up by a point 1-2, with tries from H and Zak.

After a short break Woodham took to the field with a spring in there step. Tackling was good as was the rucking, but again Woodham got drawn into the ball, and one a wide pitch, were made to pay for leaving the space. Woodham again made some silly mistakes with high tackles and again were penalised by the referee. Woodham were successful with a strong defence on their own line and managed to hold up Thurrock to prevent a try. However Thurrock's hunger was stronger than that of Woodham and the final score was 4-2.

The final game saw a strong Thurrock team take an early lead, and Woodham let their heads drop. This allowed Thurrock to come back again at Woodham, and by half time they were trailing by 3 tries. The second half saw a rejuvenated Woodham side. The tackles were strong and the rucking excellent. Dan seized on a free ball and shot off up the pitch, side stepping 3 Thurrock players before finally being stopped. However, this setup Zak for a score in the corner. Thurrock again attacked the Woodham defence pushing them back deep into their own half. They threatened to push across the Woodham try line but a great tackle from Zak held them at bay. Final score was 4-1 to the home team.

Although Woodham may not have got the outcome they wanted, the morning showed some great rugby and the commitment form the team was 100%, with no one giving up. Today's team were Crackers, Dan, Lewis, H, Rhino and George, with assistance from the U10's Adam, Ryan, Zak, Mason and Wilbo. And a special thank you to ASBO and Isobelle from Thurrock for joining the team to make up the numbers. Man if the match was Dan.

Next week we are at home from training at Saltcoats from 10:00. If you fancy giving rugby a try why not come down and have a taster session.