A great win for the Colts against Tring in the LV cup semi final, 51-20. Featuring some outstanding rugby.
Woodbridge Colts 51 v Tring 20 in LV Cup Semi
Wbridge Colts 38 v Sandal 15
Woodbridge Colts (U18) progressed to the final of the National Cup – plate competition defeating Sandal 38-15 at Hatchley Barn on Sunday. Three tries from Leo Lewis, two from Lewis Jacobs and one from Ben Harrington, gave the Suffolk side a comfortable win over their West Yorkshire opponents, Jack Johnson converting four from six.
After some initial probing by both sides, it was the home team that seized the initiative. A loose kick was gathered by fullback Simon Plummer outside his own 22, and his mazy run took him to the half way line before offloading to the omnipresent Leo Lewis on his shoulder. Lewis outpaced the defence and in a double blow for the visitors, their scrum-half; Sam Tovey pulled up with a hamstring injury giving chase.
Soon after, Woodbridge skipper Lewis Jacobs crashed over from close range after the home team had opted to run a penalty, Johnson this time failing to convert.
Sandal then exerted an extended period of pressure, battering round the fringes against some resolute home defence. Harrington was yellow carded for persistent infringements in the red zone, and a score at this stage would have breathed life into the Yorkshire challenge. Instead it was the Suffolk team that broke, and after good lead-up play by Jack Moody, Leo Lewis showed strength to score his second try of the afternoon, giving the home team a 19-0 lead at the break.
Harrington made an immediate impact on his return, scoring at the start of the second half to snuff out any thoughts of an away comeback, and when Lewis Jacob added his second try of the afternoon, it was 31-0.
A converted try by Sandal finally got them on the score board but it was the home side that were calling the shots; the Woodbridge pack were retaining ball well with Sam Garrington to the fore, and Jack Johnson was dictating play from ten; mixing his game well with some sublime breaks and intelligent kicking.
A thumping tackle from Tom Ives enabled Leo Lewis, scavenging well; to complete his hat trick before a hard line from the Sandal centre, hitting a gap at pace, completed the scoring for the afternoon.
Woodbridge will now play Brentwood in the Plate final, the Essex club defeating Ivybridge (Plymouth) in the other semi-final.
Thurston 20 v Warriors 19
Capt Tom Stokes says “Not the result we wanted today against Thurston but as always it was a pleasure to run out one last time this season with the lads wearing the blue jersey. Thank you again to Angus and Richard for travelling half way across the country to step in. Awesome commitment from good friends. After a few weeks off what we have achieved will sink in, but for now cup champions and the opportunity to play in the London league next season sound pretty good to me. Let’s now get behind our brilliant colts and watch them bring some more titles to this club.”
Paul Coulson added “On behalf of the Woodbridge Massive, can I convey my thanks to all those who turned out for the last game of the season. There have been various setbacks, not of our doing, that have held us back from advancement in EC1. Nevertheless, you can be assured of our continued support at home & away next season. We are the best social club in this area and certainly the club that a lot aspire to be. As supporters,we rely on you to show your continued commitment to the game of rugby and to your club. You can be assured of our continued support. Enjoy the break! As ever, thanks to Drew & team for all your hard work.”
Final word to Drew “All in all, a bloody great effort for making a team that competed to the very end”
Warriors 16 v Crusaders 20
Massive end of season derby against Crusaders. Great action pictures from Woody at Rainywood Photography
Warriors 31 v Wymondham 50
Massive thanks to the lads that stepped up today against Wymondham!!! Down 5-33 at half time our Warriors proved that they are by pushing Wymondham around and winning the second half. But, the final score of 31-50 was really a solid one with lads that had not played or trained together. We still have fight left and fifth in the league! Thanks again and cheers to our amazing travelling support.
Come and try Girls Rugby
Come and try Girls Rugby – Open to all abilities
Thursday 30 March 6pm – 7pm at Woodbridge Rugby Club, Hatchley Barn, Bromeswell IP12 2PP.
Contact andrew.wilesmith@yahoo.co.uk
Amazons 20 v Harlow 0
The Amazons ended their 2016/17 season with a heart-warming win over Essex rivals Harlow at Hatchley Barn on Sunday.
The visitors offered little in terms of attacking threat, but by not committing bodies to the ruck, their solid wall of defenders challenged the Suffolk side to break them down.
The Amazons have grown so much as a squad in this “rebuilding” season, they could have been excused for possible signs of frustration, but by remaining composed, working through the phases and retaining the ball at breakdowns, the patient approach paid dividends.
Two unanswered tries in each half were just reward for an enterprising performance, particularly playing against a strong headwind in the opening period.
After soaking up early pressure, the Woodbridge ladies found their feet and the busy Rhian Claydon capped a fine move to open the scoring. A break from the skipper Claire Brickley, on to Claydon advanced the hosts into Harlows 22 and after support play from Libby Stopard and Carmel Roisin, Claydon went in at the corner.
The visitors attempted to pin back their hosts, kicking on with a strong tail wind. Fullback Stacy Robinson was having none of it and returned each chip with gusto.
Pressure led to another score as the fierce line of Harlow’s defence was breached again. Some quick-fire offloads caused havoc and scrum half Morven McAlpine was as surprised as the Harlow defenders when she was allowed to burst forward from 15 metres out before touching down.
Both conversions missed and halftime came with the score at 10-0.
After the break it seemed the Amazons could sense victory, and an energetic, sometimes even frantic period led to errors in judgement and handling.
Leading from the front, it was Brickley that regained her side’s composure and a sprint from her from 25 metres or so out, effectively ended the contest.
Harlow’s attempts at slowing the ball down proved inadequate in the second half, but it wasn’t until the referee announced the final play, that a fourth and final score secured a fine win.
Roisin broke free from the pack and outstripped the flagging defenders, bringing up the 20 point mark. It was a fitting end to the match, and possibly more so because it highlighted the patient manner and fighting spirit that has developed since the current coaching staff took over.
It’s been a fine season, despite so many new faces arriving, and it really bodes well for a strong 17/18 campaign!
Woodbridge Amazons 20 v Harlow 0
Colts beat Market Harboro 5-12 to progress in Plate
Woodbridge Colts won 5-12 away against Market Harborough to progress to the plate semi finals
Warriors retain Suffolk Cup
Woodbridge Warriors 18 v Southwold 15
Last year Woodbridge (EC1) won a the Suffolk Cup – the Chedacre Cup by beating Stowmarket (London 3NE) 8-24 away. This year they faced Southwold from the same, higher, league but this time with a home advantage. The large crowd didn’t have to wait long. From a long kick off Southwold fluffed the catch, knocking the ball back towards their line and into the charging dive of flanker Dan Bond who touched down in a lightning 20 seconds.
The home faithful erupted at such a bonus start removing the threat of whitewash at least. Southwold composed themselves and set about going through some well-drilled phases. No 10 Luke Wade bombed the home corners where his forwards put in some good line-out work to secure possession. The occasional penalty gave Woodbridge relief and JP Hart a chance to thump the ball away as the ‘Wold’ countered with smooth hands out wide that encountered fast defence to shove them into touch. Scrums seemed fairly evenly matched although Southwold were penalised for pushing too soon which gave the Warriors a sortie into the Southwold danger area with Jono Cooke and Nick Woodley leading the attack before being pinged for holding on. Southwold kicked their way up field for a prolonged assault on the home line, hooker James Hall and prop Adam Smith picking and driving against Simon Codd, Dan Taylor and Billy King in defence. A penalty let Hart clear but Southwold sniffed a score and, from a scrum penalty against Woodbridge, held a line out to get quick ball first in field and then out to No 8 Jon Mayall to score.
The visitors immediately resumed their offensive, Wade repeatedly hoisting the ball up for his wings to chase favouring the right channel. Woodbridge defended another 5m threat only for Southwold to return and set up a line-out maul from which prop Smith scored to silence the home fans.
With minutes to the break Woodbridge got some possession and, after Jamie Smith missed a penalty attempt, even some territory from a great Hart kick. Luke Garnham gathered a clearance and ran back winning a scrum in the Southwold 22 from which Hart and Smith fed right wing Simon Ward who fended off defenders to score and retake the lead at 12-10.
Southwold’s scrum continued to yield penalties but despite that the balance of play remained with the visitors into the second half as their forwards worked hard into the home 22 only to get penalised again in the scrum and allow Hart to clear. Woodbridge remained under the cosh as Wade continued to pepper their 22 with high kicks and their heavy pack, Samuel Webby, Kristian Taylor and Peter Holmes tested the Warriors tackle stamina. A quick penalty and some tasty passing ended with winger Barton scoring to take a 3 point lead.
Woodbridge’s Smith missed another penalty but, undeterred they continued to bash up the middle with Captain Tom Stokes and centre Josh Thomas really challenging. The tension began to show as first Hart kicked a penalty dead and then Wade screwed up a 22 drop out and the Southwold scrum was penalised again which gave Smith a chance to level the score with 20 minutes to run. Woodbridge, lifted by a noisy home support, raised their game, exploiting Southwold penalties and yellow card to stay in the Southwold half and allow Smith to miss another penalty. Southwold lost another player after repeated infringements gave Smith one last chance to steal the win which he did as chaos followed, the Woodbridge throng going crazy at beating a higher ranked opponent for the second year running and keeping the Chadacre Cup at Hatchley Barn.
U15s v West Norfolk (17-7) and Wisbech (18-0)
W Norfolk 17 v Woodbridge U15 7
Wisbech 18 v Woodbridge U15 0
Match report from James Evans-Lombe 12/3/17
Basically, we had a long drive to King’s Lynn to meet West Norfolk and Wisbech in the Eastern Counties Shield. We also had a handfull of boys not playing for a variety of reasons. But we did manage to rustle up a team of 17, and what a bunch of boys. Given we had to pay two back-to-back matches, we chose to play the first 2 matches (so we could get home in sunlight!).
First up was West Norfolk. This time last year, when we played them in the same Eastern Counties challenge, home advantage helped and we beat them. This time around, home advantage seems to have helped WN. We played really well, but our attaching line was a bit too deep, so we never really made the gain line, and our kicking to touch just gave the ball to the opposition. Having said that, the ball went from one end of the pitch to the other several times, and the score of 17-7 doesn’t really show how much we fought all the way. Just two missed tackles were all that counted.
Next up was Wisbech. We had just played and they were fresh. Again, it was a match that went from one end of the pitch to another. Sadly for us, Wisbech were able to finish their attacks and we just didn’t have the oomph to press ours home. I think the final score was 18-0 to Wisbech, but given we were only cms away from the Wisbech try-line at ½ time, it could all have been different….
I also have to say that the ref was very fair and very explicit – from the start he said he wanted a game with minimal stoppages and he was extremely consistent. Full marks to him.