Not for the Nervous but Great for the Neutral

On the plus side it gave us the opportunity to make sure the boys that were available got some decent game time. And it was a decent game, and then some.

The front row started with Jack Stickings at tight-head prop, Joe Mitchell at hooker and James Mowle at loose-head. Chris Martin and Jack Murphy in the second row, Reiss Sellwood at openside flanker with Austen King at blindside and Corey Lazell at number 8. Rob Sheldrake began at scrum-half, Louis Croll at fly-half, Ethan Hepton and Joseph Cottam at inside and outside centre with Jacob Wright and Callum Stanley on the wings. James Cowland completed the side at full-back.

Woodford began the strongest and started to make inroads into the Rochford half. A big pack and a back line happy to pass the ball meant that this match would be a close one. And it was Woodford who opened the scoring. From the restart Rochford looked like they meant business and began to push up field. A well timed run through the Woodford defence by Joseph Cottam put the first points on the board for Rochford, 5-7. This exchange set the tone for the rest of the match and Woodford increased their lead only for a barnstorming run from Jack Stickings saw him score and close the gap again. Fifteen minutes in and a substitution gave us time to catch our breath with Connor Jones replacing Jacob Wright on the wing.

After 20 Minutes Gareth was forced into making a substitution as Louis Croll had a calf strain. So Callum Stanley moved to Scrum Half, Rob Sheldrake to fly half and Jacob Wright returned to his duties on the wing. Woodford attacked again and extended their lead to 9 points with another well worked try. It was important that the Rochford boys went into half time on a positive note and that was provided by Corey Lazell with a forceful run through the Woodford defence to keep the half time deficit at four points.

Half-time - Rochford 15 Woodford 21

The second half continued as the first but this time it was Rochford who scored first to go ahead in the match. A well worked line-out saw the ball make its way to Jack Stickings who darted in and out of defenders to score his second of the match. Joseph Cottam stepped up for the kicking duties and added the extra two. Woodford came back again and added another try to put them back in front yet again.

Rochford went on the attack again passing the “Take That” record for the most come-backs. With an overlap on the outside and coaches screaming for him to draw the tackle and pass, Rob Sheldrake sold a dummy, stepped inside, wrong footed a second defender and just made it over the line despite the best efforts of the Woodford defenders. With the full time approaching Woodford scored their fifth try and fourth conversion to put themselves in the driving seat. This could have caused heads to drop but the Rochford boys are made of strong stuff and made one last attack.

With Rochford six points down and the clock ticking down a well worked move by the backs saw the ball reach Joseph Cottam who broke one tackle, stepped inside another and scored to the right of the posts to put Rochford back within a point of Woodford. In what must be the rugby equivalent of Alex Ferguson’s Squeaky-Bum Time, up stepped Callum Stanley for what would have been a much easier conversion for him if the game didn’t depend on it. With the pressure on and no doubt his heart thumping in his chest he coolly slotted it over and the referee blew the final whistle.

Full time – Rochford 34 Woodford 33

This was an exciting match to watch for neutrals but had the rest of us biting our nails right to the end. Rochford can be proud that they never stopped fighting and the cheers at the end showed how much this meant to them. Credit must also go to Woodford who played some great rugby and are clearly a much improved side this season.

Joseph Cottam was selected as Man of the Match, not just for his two tries and a conversion but most importantly for his defensive work, making tackle after tackle and putting real pressure on the Woodford attackers.

Tries
Joseph Cottam (2)
Jack Stickings (2)
Corey Lazell
Rob Sheldrake

Conversions
Joseph Cottam
Callum Stanley

1, James Mowle; 2, Joe Mitchell; 3, Jack Stickings; 4, Chris Martin ; 5, Jack Murphy; 6, Austen King; 7, Reiss Sellwood; 8; Corey Lazell; 9, Rob Sheldrake; 10, Louis Croll; 11, Jacob Wright; 12, Ethan Hepton; 13, Joseph Cottam; 14, Callum Stanley; 15, James Cowland; 16, Connor Jones