Lakenham Hewett 5 v Woodbridge Amazons 44

18th February 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Sitting third in the league prior to this weekend, a mouthwatering trip to bottom placed Lakenham Hewitt on Sunday, meant the Woodbridge Amazons could keep the pressure up on the two sides above them. Whilst the top of the table clash between Bury St Edmunds and Harwich was going on in Suffolk, the predictable happened in Norfolk.

With some notable absentees, the side from Hatchley Barn were forced into a reshuffle, particularly in the backs. Anna Dewberry stepped into the flyhalf role, vacated by skipper Claire Brickley who dropped into the fullback position. Number 8 Carmel Leak moved to outside centre, and debutant Helen Self came in outside Dewberry, with Julie Tyler and Kat Meade on the wings.

Self showed her worth immediately with a huge charge early on, setting up captain Brickley for the first of her hat trick on the day. A lineout steal and run from Beth Kinlan, supported by Leak and Vicky Watts was judged to be held up over the line as the Amazons begun in total control. Brickley scored her second when she angled into the backline at pace, revelling in her freedom in the 15 jersey. Watts converted for a 12 point cushion.

Moments later Leak made a great break before giving a scoring pass to Meade out wide and the 17 point margin was looking comfortable already.

The hosts weren’t ready to give up without a fight however, and began to gain possession. Lauren Halliwell was positive, while ex Amazon Jennifer Ray worked tirelessly against her former team mates.

Gradually working their way into the Amazons 22, two big tackles from Alex Saunders denied a score. Brickley cleared but further pressure led to a deserved try from Sonia Knowles.

Amazons prop Victoria Felstein left the field with a broken nose before halftime as it became apparent the hosts were in no mood to lay down quietly.

In the second half the power of the Amazons pack took over. Kinlan, Toni Bell and a patched up Felstein drove into the heart of Lakenhams defence. Kat Sidders, Saunders and the irrepressible Kaz Black were first to every breakdown, constantly denying the hosts possession, allowing scrum half Morvern McAlpine plenty of chance to choose her targets.

Some excellent handling worked out to the left saw Tyler angling back in from her left wing position, for try number four. Watts converted.

As the forwards began to dominate, the penalty count rose. Choosing to run at every opportunity, rather than electing to play in the hosts half, a constant battering became too much for Lakenham to handle. Some simple hands from another solid scrum saw Leak ghost through for a try, as the Amazons looked capable of scoring from anywhere now.

Tyler carved out chances as she enjoyed her best performance of the season, but it was Brickley that grabbed her third when Leak again burst through the midfield, the skipper on her shoulder, ever ready for more. 34 points to 5 now.

Lakenham tried to find a way back, living off scraps and repeatedly hitting a brick wall in Woodbridges well organised defensive line, to no avail.

Tyler, now full of confidence, outstripped everybody from 40 metres for her brace, but the try of the day ended the scoring in the late stages and epitomised the Amazons dominance.

A Lakenham scrum at halfway, the Amazons pack simply drove straight through for McAlpine to cleanly pick up at the base. Dewberry to Self, superb in their new roles all day, fed Leak who tore into a tiring Lakenham defence. As she edged closer, Leak unselfishly offloaded to Meade to put the icing on the cake – simply wonderful stuff.

This was as complete a performance as the Amazons have played all season, the 44-5 final outcome fitting reward for the huge effort put into the performance. The pack looked menacing, the changes in personnel and positions all clicked into place, and Selfs debut was fantastic.

With just two fixtures remaining, promotion looks unlikely but these Amazons are playing in a rich vein of form now and have proved themselves a perennial powerhouse once more!

Wisbech RFC 19 v Woodbridge Warriors 34

18th February 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Woodbridge started vigourously the Warriors pushing up-field for Jamie Smith to kick 3 penalty points. Wisbech forwards No8 Sam Anderson and flyhalf Jack Malkin fought back as the visitors earned a run of penalties. Despite a good lineout steal by Dan Knights Wisbech were fast up to pressurise Smith, JP Hart cleared but the home full-back Harry Newman and Henry Lankfer supported centre Freddy Foreman to the 22 where forwards Richard Cavell, Nat Hunt and Will Lankfer picked and drove forcing a swift penalty from Malkin to flanker Jamie Parsons who scored. Woodbridge responded; flanker Jono Cooke broke supported by lock Ed Banthorpe, with No8s – Aldis Salavejs against Anderson, flanker Matt Bowman was stopped short then Smith slipped two tackles to score out wide.

Wisbech came back through wing Alex Watson and Freddy Foreman before Salavejs broke from a scrum and quick, safe hands fed Bowman who battered over to score. Wisbech reacted with a threatening surge on the Woodbridge line. Repeated ruck penalties reduced Woodbridge to 14 before a high, try-saving tackle on Watson earned a penalty try.

Woodbridge looked sharp at the restart, scrum half Taff Lloyd launching Bowman again into the tackle of hooker Hunt as Wisbech stole, Will Lankfer carried and centre James Napier bolted down route one. Hart cleared back downfield and again after another penalty, Bowman rampaged unsupported and centre James Porter had a good run – a ruck reloaded Bowman then a long pass from Clogg put scrum Half Adam Plummer over in the corner. Boosted the visitors did it again flanker Cooke and Salavejs charging the defence only to be stymied by penalties. The counter was stolen and Clogg bombed full back Watson who was chased down. A scrum yielded possession to Bowman to Tom Edwards to Hart who scored. Woodbridge successfully defended an attack from Napier, Newman and Cavell with pressure on the line but a spill let Hart snaffle it, Smith kicked on and Clogg ran 80m to score a breakaway try. Another strong Wisbech run from Newman set up a siege on the Woodbridge 5m line and it was Napier who eventually broke through, the eighth and final try in an energetic, hard-fought, entertaining contest.

Woodbridge Colts 28 v Cambridge Colts 5 28/1/18

29th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Great match played in a good spirit where the score speaks more about the Woodbridge defence than any Cambridge Rugby shortcomings. The visitors attacked frequently but were stopped in the 22 or on the line. Some lovely flowing rugby from both sides, Woodbridge just having the edge.

Woodbridge Amazons 61 v Chelmsford 0

29th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Match Report by Ian Girling
On a glorious sunny Suffolk afternoon, the Amazons put on an amazing display against Chelmsford to reignite their league campaign. The visiting Chelmsford ladies had no riposte to the Woodbridge determination, and an unanswered nine try victory underlined the hosts dominance. The writing was on the wall almost immediately when the opening kickoff was knocked on by Chelmsford.

From the resulting scrum Centre Stacy Robinson made inroads before offloading to Number 8 Carmel Roisin. The powerful runner was hauled down a metre out but Kirsty Brierley was up in support to accept the popped pass and touch down. Robyn Gordon kicked the first of her eight conversion attempts to make it 7-0 after just minutes had been played.

Moments later another break from Robinson looked to have put Gordon clear through for a sprint to the line, but the scoring pass was judged forward. The hectic pace took its toll as injuries to players from both sides caused stoppages. Having not played in weeks, the decision to keep things simple proved a masterplan, as the floodgates began to open. From a scrum on halfway the ball was worked through the backs line out to Winger Kat Mead. She turned on the speed and simply flew past her defender, then the Fullback, to register try number two. 14-0. The forwards got in on the act then, as they patiently recycled possession, forcing their way up-field piece by piece. Alex Saunders charged at the line, then offloaded to her skipper Claire Brickley, who capped a great effort for try number three. Rolling substitutions maintained the Woodbridge pressure and two further tries were scored before the break. Saunders got her reward for a cracking first half display, the veteran Maggie Kelly ended a move that involved both forwards and backs for a particularly pleasing team score. With Gordon maintaining her 100% kicking display, it was 35-0 at the turnaround.

In the second half the visitors showed tremendous courage in a losing effort, stalling the onslaught, and even creating opportunities themselves. However, each time they pressed, they left themselves exposed and the hosts more than took advantage. A break from Paula Ireland set up Captain Brickley for her second of the afternoon. An exciting development turned more interesting as Gordon tried to keep her 100% kicking rate. Now into a low sun and blustery conditions against her, the conversion actually hit the crossbar before going through the uprights!

A nice break from Julie Tyler relieved Chelmsford pressure, then Gordon delivered a killer blow by sprinting some 70 metres for a superb solo score. Too exhausted to attempt her own conversion, Robinson missed her first attempt. As both sets of forwards tired, gaps started to appear and Gordon scored her brace to advance the lead to 54. Still keeping things simple, there was still time for a last team effort. Huge efforts from the likes of Kat Sidders and Tor Felstein, plus the tireless reliability of scrum half Morvern McAlpine led to a try from Roisin that, again, saw numerous pairs of hands involved, capping possibly the most complete performance of the season thus far.

The final question would be answered as Gordon kicked her eighth conversion, making her 100% on the day, setting an Amazons record.

This magnificent win sets the Woodbridge side up perfectly for their chance at revenge at Bury St Edmunds next time out.

Woodbridge Warriors 3 v Holt RFC 14

28th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Woodbridge Warriors 3 v Holt RFC 14

Early scrum penalties put Woodbridge on the back-foot, James Wyatt missed a penalty kick but the short ball was knocked on by Adam Plummer and the resulting scrum became the first of many periods of duress for the home defence which held well, Matt Bowman, Tom Stokes, Ed Banthorp and Manny Aroza among the ones putting in hard tackles – no surprise Woodbridge dropped to 14. As the rain started both sides kicked for territory, Woodbridge enjoyed some possession and Bowman ran a penalty with support from Jamie Smith and the tireless Aldis Salavejs at No8. The counter from left wing Ollie Woodrow was quick however – forcing a try-saver from Smith. Holt capitalised on the resulting penalty, No8 Jeremy Seaman dropped his first try attempt but scored from the re-set 5m scrum. Both sides tried flowing rugby – Tom Jackson the Holt fly-half fed his backs with good lineout ball from Capt Ashley Woods at flanker and Salavejs was opportunistic from the back of the scrum. Nevertheless most ground was made by kicking and it was Holt that besieged the Warrior line but were vexed not to score.

Holt started the second period with Woods, now playing at 8, and No7 Henry Harrison bashing down the right wing and Jackson punishing ruck penalties with corner kicks. Star of the day was the Warrior’s defence which took a frequent and sustained battering from the unrelenting Holt pack. A few substitutions refreshed the home pack and a lineout saw Bowman set Capt Tom Stokes off on a 40m dart into the Holt 22 where Holt lost a player to the bin and Smith kicked three points. The Warriors ratcheted back through a period of line-outs, Felix Kibble finding a good touch Aroza, Bowman, Salavejs and big sub Tom Edwards having some thundering carries. It was looking promising and the crowd sensed a Warrior score when Jackson intercepted a cross field pass and sprinted 50m to score a try that knocked the wind out of the Woodbridge collective. With ten minutes to go Woodbridge broke the Holt 5m line but, with time and a strong Holt defence, any chance of a come-back was as miserable as the drizzle.

Clacton 5 v Saxons 29

14th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

Woodbridge survive immense pressure and a yellow with solid scrums and fantastic defence. Woodbridge kick off and clacton knock onthe ball backwards, Jack Jermyn ッ jumps on the loose ball and it’s shipped out to the backs till play is stopped by a knock on. Woodbridge recover the ball and John Yorke runs through the clacton defence and boots it up the field and forces clacton to make some try saving tackles. Woodbridge fire again but a knock on stops play. A solid drum sees the ball spun wide to Doug who steps inside to score, john y for the extras. 7-0 to the good. This kicks clacton into life and with another penalty given away puts them on Woodbridge’s 22. A great chase and tackle out of the back of the scrum but Josh Mr-Morphine Sugrue stops clacton on their tracks. Woodbridge give away another penalty and clacton kick the ball out on the 5m. Jez Hannon calls no jump at the line out and it works as clacton knock on. A brilliant scrum gives john Y a chance to smash the ball up the field. Clacton refuse to accept this and set up camp in Woodbridge’s half but the Saxons are not giving clacton a chance to breath with a brilliant display in defence. After 20-25 mins of pressure from clacton, Woodbridge regain the ball and jez and Alex Delbrouque power up the field. A great kick from John y and great work at the line out from jack see’s Woodbridge inches from the try line.clacton recover and boot the call up the pitch and Ben Herbert collects but a shoulder barge from Chris Voller stops play. Clacton now back in Woodbridges half and applying massive pressure and the Saxons fight for every inch but clacton finally go over 7-5. Game on!

A great period of back and forward from both teams and some great running from Ben h sees john y slip through and score, takes the extras too.

One change at halftime with Matthew North off and Marc tindall on and having a instant impact with a great return from the kick off.clacton regain the ball and almost score but Ben H saves the day. Woodbridge used the pure power of josh and Stephen Sugrue and Ben h slips around to score, easy points for john Y! Woodbridge return the kick via Ben h who receives a nasty looking high tackle and voller has a few words and gets yellow. A powerful scrum allows adi and john Y to ship the ball out to Doug to score his 2nd, no extras this time. Powerful running from the big lumps sees clacton feel the pressure and give away the the penalty and jez points to the posts, John steps up and converts. This makes clacton rally and they tear Woodbridge but the Saxons weather the storm, the steal the ball back and get into their half and a beautiful pass sees Matt north go over before being called back for a forward pass. This doesn’t phase Woodbridge and they almost score again but a skilful tackle see’s ham knocked into touch. A tense 2nd half but Woodbridge hold firm. 29-5 final score!

Thetford 34 v Woodbridge Warriors 8

14th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

This mid–table clash didn’t disappoint. Both sides started energetically. The Warriors pressured through full back Jamie Smith who ran back clearance kicks joined by fly half Adam Plummer and flanker Matt Bowman. Thetford’s big Adam Harper retaliated, bursting through several tackles to make ground, mauling from the line out and forcing clearances and penalties – scrum half Joshua Sharp kept his forwards; Abraham Barnes, Richard Sharp and Aaron Stokoe supplied with driving passes but it was Sharp that scored. Wing Robert Duchesne made a sinuous 40m dash to harass Woodbridge further only for the chip to go dead. The drop-out was run back fast on the left wing by Ryan Gardiner and centre William Martin ran through scant defence to score. Woodbridge came back from the restart, passed quickly left, Bowman carried 20m before offloading to winger, Felix Kibble to score. Penalties allowed Thetford into their 22 but the Warriors defended well, clearing up-field where Smith kicked three points.

Thetford started the second session by blasting Woodbridge back into their 22, missing an opportunity wide on the left which allowed the visitors to get back into the home half before they also missed a penalty chance for more territory. Harper had another good run to the halfway line but the Warriors applied some pressure of their own putting Thetford momentarily on the back foot. It was the boot of centre William Martin that cleared and put Plummer under pressure and the lineout produced fast hands across pitch to Martin who broke three tackles to score.

Smith missed a penalty shot before long kicks forced them to run from deep but they occupied the Thetford half for a period forcing penalties and passing fluidly. Thetford counter-attacked through left wing Gardiner and Sharp took three penalty points as the balance switched – a ruck outside the 22 and long pass from Sharp to Gardiner set up a try-line ruck and Sharp dotted down.

After a shabby restart failed to make 10m a centre-field scrum saw wingers combine – Duchesne to Gardiner and a fifth try confirmed a well-earned Thetford victory.

Woodbridge Warriors 19 v W Norfolk 30

7th January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

West Norfolk started belligerently, from an early lineout big lock Adam Fox forced the Warriors back into their 22 and set the agenda for a busy forwards day. Scrum half Hayden Revell squirrelled cross-field to set up a scrum and No8 Edney Costa picked and drove back. Woodbridge defence held, No8 Aldis Salavejs ran from deep but the respite was short-lived as first wing Steve Aspery attacked the left and then quick hands saw centre Freddie Playford score wide on the right. With fly half Sam Moses kicking well Norfolk took another three penalty points. The restart saw Woodbridge No 10 JP Hart gather and sprint 40m under the posts for a cheeky try against a confused West Norfolk. Prop Paul Bridges and Fox responded by bashing their way through some uncharacteristically desultory tackling to besiege the home tryline where an intense pick-and-drive fest and held-up try set up an attacking scrum from which Aspery scored. Woodbridge Salavejs and flanker Matt Bowman put in several up-field carries until a chip from Hart was intercepted by Aspery who scampered 80 metres to score his second.

The game resumed with Revell still using Fox as a battering ram. Hart, with the wind at his back, tried the long kicks but full back Mark Tilbrook and wing Ollie Ridout were quick to exploit weak tackling to regain territory. Norfolk’s forwards took the ball up to the Warrior line again and this time Moses scored. Moments later another onslaught yielded Moses another three penalty points as the home team remained under pressure. Woodbridge defended another couple of attacks and benefitted from some Norfolk penalties as the game went aerial, both sides trying to ratchet up the touchlines. Woodbridge got their dividend when, Ed Banthorp and Tim Johnson grafting at the breakdowns, wing Reece Monk combined with full back Luke Wattam on the left before the ball was recycled right and Felix Kibble scored. Boosted by this late return on investment the Warriors attacked again Hart finishing a move with an offload to Wattam who scored. Johnson and the hard-working scrum half Adam Plummer got the crowd going with another charge but the come-back was too late and West Norfolk survived as worthy winners.

Woodbridge U21 – 19 Southwold U21 – 24

2nd January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

A youthful Woodbridge team, comprised mainly of Colts and U19’s, gave their older rivals a fright before finally succumbing in what was the last play of the day, 24-19. Two early penalties from Jack Johnson had set the tone; the Woodbridge lads were looking for a scalp against a free scoring Southwold backline that had battered Ipswich 79-0 earlier in the week. The Wold backline looked dangerous with the ball in hand, particularly in running from deep and returning kicks, but one v one tackles being made, notably by Harrington, Ives and Wright, and some committed scramble defence, kept Southwold at bay until the last play of the half when Wold scored under the posts. 6-7

Johnson kicked a further penalty as the game opened up, with the increased tempo seemingly favouring a now fired up home XV. The teams exchanged tries with Aldis Salavejs scoring in the left hand corner after a searing break, and George Pryke repeating the trick in the same corner minutes later, benefitting from a deft offload from Dafydd Harston to apply a horizontal finish. 19-12

With an unlikely win in sight, Southwold upped the ante and drew level when Woodbridge failed to clear their lines.19-19.

A draw would perhaps have been a fair result, (particularly welcome a in the Carlstroem household!) but the visitors were not to be denied, and scored on the whistle to retain the bragging rights in what has been a welcome addition to the Christmas Fixture list.

Simpson Cup 2017 Chairman’s XV 17 Varsity Wanderers XV 28

2nd January 2018 Simon Ballard — No Comments

The annual Simpson cup challenge was played out in ideal conditions and a large crowd was rewarded with an end-to-end game of rugby in the bright winter sunshine. It was perhaps no surprise to see the Students/Exiles prevail as a squad largely made up of last year’s cup wining Colts squad was bolstered by several returning Army lads with Dan Taylor, Neil Copes and Connor O’Reilly adding some nous and graft to the Student pack – all too often their Achilles heel.

The Club XV, captained this year by Angus Clogg, took the opportunity to introduce eight colts to adult rugby, all of whom relished the challenge, and offered a marked increase in tempo. And it would not be a Boxing day match without a father/son combination, Stephen and Jordan Collins joining club captain Tom Stokes in an unlikely front row.

The Club dominated the opening exchanges – retaining possession well before Aldis Salavejs took advantage of some weak tackling to open the scoring. The Students hit back and two quick fire tries from Archie Read gave them a 14-7 lead at the break. Tries from Jack Johnson and an opportunist score from Adi Sanday – both converted – saw the students extend the score to 28 -7 before the club hit back with late tries from the hard running Salavejs and Ewan Maclean – debuting on the right wing.

A hugely enjoyable day – and our thanks to Eastern Counties for their continued support with the fixture.