UNDER 14s

STANFORD 22 WOODFORD 24

This was a gritty mid table clash with the winners likely to take 3rd spot in the table. It started with the visitors looking the most likely to score which they did after about 10 minutes. Stanford immediately replied with the forwards rucking and mauling their way well into the visitors 22, scrum half Dominic McDonald picked up and powered through a half gap to even the score. Woodford did not take this lying down and again piled on the pressure, the home side then appeared to lose interest in tackling and allowed the opposition to score two tries in quick succession, to which they added the conversions.

Stanford's midfield did make several sorties but were foiled by a lack of support, the half ended with Woodford 19-5 in the lead.

It was much the same story for the first 10 minutes of the second half and then the penny dropped and Stanford began to play with much more purpose, good pressure forced a wild clearance kick which novice winger Clifford Pinnock gathered on the 22 and raced under the posts. Woodford replied with an unconverted try but this did not dent Stanford's building confidence, several well supported breaks resulted in tries for number 8 Musa Yusuff, converted by Dominic McDonald, and centre Jacob Dennis. This last try was scored on the stroke of full time and with Stanford's regular kicker injured it was a nail biting finale, unfortunately the scrum half's brave attempt sailed wide of the posts. It was a thrilling end to a good game and hopefully marks a return to form of Stanford U14's.

UNDER 13s

STANFORD 25 BRENTWOOD B 10

Stanford under 13s started well but squandered several chances early on, until a typical sharp score from flying winger Callun Merchant before half time. Powerful Number 8 Louis Webb scored a hat-trick before Jake Clarke broke the Brentwood defence with a well worked opening and sprinted half the length of the pitch to score.

The match was notable for some good individual performances, particularly man of the match Dave Hickey, who played brilliantly in midfield and made numerous crunching tackles. There was also a good performance from Jamie Impey and some powerful ball-carrying and good work in the breakdown area by Louis Webb. There were also some excellent passages of play where the majority of the team got involved in some great passing moves. With an improvement in rucking and support play they will be a match for many sides in the future.

This was an encouraging win for Stanford and will boost their confidence for the remaining matches in their league campaign.

Scorers: Callun Merchant, Louis Webb 3, Jake Clarke.