Woodford v Rochford Under 16s, 11 September 2011

Louis set the bar high with two tries on his debut, and Ben Williamson fitted in well, to a position vacated by a former player going to pastures new.

Woodford had the best of the early possession and territory, but were hit by a Rochford break down the wing. The player ended up in touch about 5 yards out, but as the ball carrier had not been properly tackled, Rochford were awarded a penalty. Opting to take a scrum allowed Musa Yussuf to force his way through the defence, to open the scoring.
Lifting at lineouts, new this season, was interesting, with boys being lifted way too early and the referee insisting they return to earth, before the throw could be retaken. From one lineout Nathan Rothwell was not lifted, and was surprised to take the ball chest high, the players then working it to the opposite flank where Matthew Barnes scored.

The restart kick was caught by James Spicer, who passed to Cameron Pitt, who ran from deep in his own half to score, handing off several attempts to tackle him on route. Woodford kept working and pushing forward and were rewarded with a try of their own, just before half-time W5-R19.
Early in the second half Louis intercepted a knock on, running through to score, but this was quickly followed by Woodford’s second, then Louis second. Mitchell Bennett then took up the scoring reins, his first sprinting through from a pass from a ruck, the second picking up a ball in the open & dodging through to score.

Woodford managed a third try, before a good run by Liam Bass, thwarted about 5 yards out, managed to pass to Hayden Smith, who forced his way over the line, through several defenders, for the last score of the match. Josh Lipscombe converted 4 out of 7 attempts, with Matthew Barnes missing the other right at the end W17-R48.

The match was played on a pair of pitches a distance from the club house, which were hemmed in on three sides by bushes and trees, with a lake near the remaining sideline. The sun was shining throughout making it pleasantly warm, and that coupled with the quality of rugby and efforts of the players, made me think this is what rugby should be like, rather than the game I had watched on the telly the previous morning.