Writtle 1st XV (20) – Stanford 1st XV (17)
Stanford lose in the final minutes.
Stanford scored first after 19 minutes when the forwards mauled well towards the Writtle line. After several penalties award in favour of the Red men Writtle’s determined defence broke and Aaron Kempster dived over from the base of a ruck.
Stanford forwards despite having three changes to their normal set up were working well as a unit and produced a 20 metre rolling maul which Writtle couldn’t contain.
Scrum half Dominic McDonald steered the pack forwards and as Chris Smith broke free McDonald was on hand to accept a well-timed pass and he dived over the line to take Stanford 10 points ahead.
Up till now Stanford’s discipline had been excellent but after 30 minutes of play Stanford conceded a penalty which Writtle made short work of. Six minutes of the first half still to play Writtle’s speedster full back cut his way through the heart of the Stanford defence and under the posts giving an east conversion to follow. Half time saw both sides level pegging at 10 each.
Stanford was still working hard up front and as they went through several ruck phases it was Enever who picked up the ball and pretty much walked through the centre of the Writtle defence and under the posts for Reid to slot the extra points.
Writtle knew that game time was ticking down and they seemed to up the gears in the last 10 minutes. They managed to draw in the Stanford pack and then used their pacey centres and full back to out stretch the Stanford back line to score.
With the score line sitting at 15 -17 in favour of Stanford Reid tried his hardest to open the gap with an extremely close drop goal and then a just wide penalty. Two minutes to play and Writtle used the same format at early to skirt around the Stanford back line and score taking for the first time into the lead.
From the restart Jacob Cushing gave a great chase and collected the ball to set up an attack for Stanford. Stanford drove forward but lost the ball. Writtle return the attack but also turned over the ball. Stanford attacked again but again was stripped of possession, as was Writtle when they tried to run the clock down. Once last attacking effort from Stanford saw Writtle’s strong defence regain the ball and kick to touch to bring the final whistle and a score of 20 -17 in favour of the home side.
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Stanford u16s (42) – Woodford u16s (39)
An early blow was dealt to the home side when Woodford’s speedster wing out stretched the Stanford defence and some poor tackling let him run over for an opening try after just 1 minute of play.
From the restart Stanford put pressure of the Woodford back line and forced a line out. Sean Loughran was accurate with his throwing and Jack Knight was supported in the air with great strength to allow Stanford to start a rolling maul. As the maul worked its way forward scrum half Matthew Hook darted blind and crossed the line to level the scores.
Five minutes later Stanford was awarded a scrum centre of the pitch and about 10 metres off the Woodford try line. Harvey Cassidy from 8 picked up and drew two players just off loading at the last minute to Hook who dodged his way over to score again. A few minutes later Joseph Duligall increase the Stanford lead with a penalty kick which glanced off the left upright and over.
Woodford seemed to capitalise on a forced Stanford adjustment and scored with 2 minutes of the half to play.
It was Stanford who had the last word of the half when Max Buckley out sprinted several Woodford players after being set up from a darting run of Dell. Half time 18 -10 to Stanford.
Immediately into the 2nd half and Stanford were award a scrum. Hook off loaded to Ben Kelly who broke the line and gained huge ground. As the Stanford forwards piled in to secure the ball it was Jarrad Williams who picked up at the back of the ruck changed direction and dived over the line.
Stanford was very much on the front foot and when another scrum was awarded it was Cassidy who this time powered his way over the line. Minutes after the restart and another Stanford Scrum saw a great inter link play between Kelly and Duligall. The ruck was formed and Pidgeon was first there to collect the ball and drive over the line. Duligall added the extra points.
Duligall had been very instrumental in the Stanford play so when his speed and quick feet ripped through the Woodford defence it was to score a well-deserved try and conversion.
As the restart was kicked Stanford were caught sleeping and Woodford ran a quick try in under the posts, this seemed to spark something in the Woodford side and they upped their game. Three well worked and taken tries followed all from Woodford with no conversions. Whether Stanford had switched off or not full credit has to be given to Woodford for taking their chances and making the game a real thriller. The final whistle couldn’t come quick enough for Stanford and in the end after having been ahead by 32 points they took the home win by just 3 42 -39.
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Westcliff B u14S (17) Stanford u14S (21)
Both teams were evenly matched and both fielded 20 players plus each across the length of the game.
The game was so evenly matched we were past the 20 minute mark before either team had registered a score. When it came Westcliff scored out wide after a number of phases meant they finally broke the Stanford line. Westcliff scored again just before halftime again out wide to finish the half 10-0 in front.
The introduction of Teddy Shaw almost immediately led to a score as he broke through a number of tackles before a last gasp tackle from the fullback left him just short of the line as the ball rolled away from him.
The Stanford pack started to win ball in the second half which provided the platform for the backs to attack from. There was little space as the Westcliff backs came up quick to shut down any space. Teddy Shaw found a gap and burst his way through clear of the defence to score under the posts. Connan Crowhurst at 10 was having one of his best games for Stanford and duly converted from underneath the sticks.
Tom Oughton was having a stormer in the loose and Beau Nyland made a couple of breaks to really put Westcliff on the back foot. Connan was spreading the ball out and Derry Mager took the ball at full speed and with his angle of run breached the defence before stepping back inside the winger to score under the posts. Connan Crowhurst added the extras to give Stanford a 14-10 lead.
Westcliff were not finished and Samson took the ball near the halfway line with very little space near the touchline and outpaced the Stanford defenders before touching down under the posts where the extra 2 points were added to put Westcliff back in front.
With FLT William Jaws-Tyrell leading the defence Stanford snatched the win from the Jaws of defeat as their pack regained possession. Breaks from Beau Nyland and Tom Oughton took Stanford deep into the Westcliff 22 and then the lumbering Harry Green picked up and crashed through a couple of defenders for a couple of extra yards with the defence stretched Alfie Desmond at scrum half picked up the ball and darted over between two exhausted defenders. This time a little wider out Connan Crowhurst maintained his 100% record for the day by converting to finish the scoring at 21-17 in Stanford’s favour.
Stanford then had to weather the final 5 minutes of the match which they did in the middle third before the match ended.
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Stanford u1ss vs Barking u11s
Stanford under 11s had 17 players available and eager to have a run out against Barking despite the frosty conditions. A few of which even leant their services to the visiting team to make it a fair contest. Alex scored Barking ‘s second of 3 first quarter tries. Then Stanford woke up and mounted a reply with Alfie charging over, followed by a trade mark ‘show and go’ from Tyler. Amelia opened her account with a ball rip and drive over to level the score. Barking had the last say of the half with their nippy winger sliding over.
Barking started strong once again with the next try but fly half and centre combo Amelia and Tyler both doubled for the day in quick succession. Fullback Pancake had been threatening all and finally got his reward with a superb solo try. Special mention to Flinn who nearly tackled him short whilst playing for the opposition and put in a solid shift. Barking scored twice more then the Stanford pack piled on more pressure; Grizzly, A-Dog and Steam roller all getting a second wind. This soon told as Lewis ‘tank’ bundled over. Alfie then scored another but with the coldness maybe taking its toll Barking finished off the game with 3 unanswered tries. Overall barking won 9 tries to 8 but what a morning of rugby shown by both teams in less than perfect weather. Player of the day was Lewis for some beast mode tackles and a great try.
