On the Road Again

After the Essex Cup victory at Chingford the Under 15s had another away tie, this time at Woodford. With the squad depleted by injuries picked up last week at Ipswich, the squad saw a welcome return to fitness for James Berry and Austen King.

Woodford were unable to field a full fifteen and more importantly lacked a front row, which meant they were required by Essex RFU rules to concede the game. So Rochford lent them a player and played a friendly, but with uncontested scrums. Tom Harris pulled on the Woodford shirt for the first half.

The front row started with Daniel House at tight-head prop, Joe Mitchell at hooker and James Mowle at loose-head. Jack Murphy and Jack Cahill started in the second row, Reece Garstin at openside flanker with Austen King at blindside and James Cowland at number 8. James Berry began at scrum-half, Louis Croll at fly-half, Reiss Sellwood started at inside centre and Jack Stickings at outside centre with Jacob Wright and Callum Blackman on the wings. Joseph Cottam lined up at full-back.

From the kick off both sides struggled to get hold of the ball with a number of knock-ons seeing play not move much from half way. It was Rochford who got a grip of the conditions, and the ball, first and began to drive into the Woodford half. Another phase saw Reece Garstin break the Woodford defensive line, shrug off several tackles and dive over the line to open the scoring. Joseph Cottam made no mistake with the conversion.

With Rochford receiving the ball back from the restart they pushed forward again moving over the Woodford ten metre line. A great backs move saw Joseph Cottam join the line at speed and change the angle, creating a gap for himself to burst through and get Rochford’s second try followed by his second successful conversion. With Rochford on the front foot again, it was Jack Stickings who broke through to score with a powerful run from just inside the Woodford half. Again Joseph Cottam made it maximum points.

A scrum to Rochford on the left halfway inside the Woodford half saw Callum Blackman leave the blindside and take the ball at speed on the openside to slice open the Woodford defence for Rochford’s fourth. Joseph Cottam continued his 100% record on conversions.

That was a body blow to Woodford but they didn’t fold. A swift pass out to the wing saw Tom Harris break a couple of tackles and beat the Rochford defence for speed to touch down for Woodford’s opening score. A couple of minutes later he was at it again with the ball being dropped he kicked it through and chased after it, kicking it over the Rochford try line and beating the defender by inches to score again.

Half-time – Woodford 12 Rochford 28

Chris Martin came on to start the second half at Hooker and Austen King replaced Tom Harris in the Woodford side. This saw a reshuffle with Jack Stickings moving to blindside flanker, Tom Harris to fly-half, Louis Croll to inside centre and Reiss Sellwood to outside centre.

The second half began with Rochford on the front foot again. The forwards started to use their strength to batter the Woodford defence and a driving maul saw the ball make it over the Woodford line with Daniel House and James Mowle having their hands on the ball as it was touched down.

Another Rochford attack saw Jack Stickings drive through the Woodford defence again to double his tally which was converted by Tom Harris. Woodford continued to spread the ball around to try to create an opening but Daniel Harvey led the defensive line so effectively that often the Woodford attackers found themselves with no time to think. Jack Stickings broke through again to complete his hat-trick and Joseph Cottam scored his fifth conversion of the match.

A quick change round saw Jack Cahill come on in the second row and Joe Mitchell at flanker with Jack Stickings and Jack Murphy taking a well-earned rest. On the attack again the Rochford back line was joined by James Cowland who broke the line in the middle of the pitch and headed for the corner. Despite the Woodford defence closing in on him he made it over the line for his first ever try for Rochford.

Rochford weren’t finished yet and another swift move saw Jacob Wright come inside and dive for the line only for the ball to be ripped from his grasp before he could touch down. He wasn’t to be denied for long as the next move saw him outpace the defenders to score under the posts. Tom Harris converted.

With the clock ticking down, Woodford had been pressed within their five metre line as Rochford looked for another score. Rather than panic and kick to relieve the pressure but lose the ball, they retained possession and pushed Rochford back to the twenty-two when the final whistle blew.

Full time – Woodford 12 Rochford 59

This was a good workout for the boys but still some things to work on. Also it was great to see Daniel House and James Cowland get their first tries for the club. Also the excellent place kicking from Joseph Cottam and Tom Harris will make the difference in closer matches. All the boys have improved so much that picking a side is becoming a real headache for Gareth.

Daniel Harvey was chosen as the man of the match, for his sniping at the scrums, closing down the Woodford attacks and his hard work and support for his team mates in attack.

Tries
Reece Garstin
Joseph Cottam
Jack Stickings 3
Callum Blackman
Daniel House
James Cowland
Jacob Wright

Conversions
Joseph Cottam 5
Tom Harris 2

1, James Mowle; 2, Joe Mitchell; 3, Daniel House; 4, Jack Murphy; 5, Jack Cahill; 6, Austen King; 7, Reece Garstin; 8, James Cowland; 9, James Berry; 10, Louis Croll; 11, Callum Blackman; 12, Reiss Sellwood; 13, Jack Stickings; 14, Jacob Wright; 15, Joseph Cottam; 16, Daniel Harvey; 17, Tom Harris ; 18, Chris Martin;