UNDER 14s

SOUTH WOODHAM FERRERS 7 STANFORD 36

Stanford left it late in the league to show the kind of rugby they have been threatening all season. From the kick off they tore into their opposition dominating all aspects of the game, they missed two clear chances early on making good progress through the backs, only to fail at the last movement. The forwards then decided to have a go and almost inevitably it was the unstoppable number 8 Musa Yusuff who finished off a great move from the pack. It was from a scrum deep in South Woodham's 22 that Yusuff picked up and drove on and when he was finally brought down it was number 6 James Wade showing great support who picked up the ball and powered over the line. Stanford then changed tactics, using good distribution from the half backs, the visitors backs tore holes in the plucky home sides defence, Ryan Cronin scoring from outside centre and left wing Clifford Pinnock finding pace in extremely muddy conditions.

The second half was a different story Stanford must have thought that the game was won but the home side did not see it that way and mounted attack after attack, it was then that Stanford showed that they could tackle and their defence was only breached once which allowed South Woodham to score a well deserved try. With 15 minutes to go Stanford decided to return to the game and the resulting pressure allowed centres  Ryan Cronin and James Kitchen to score. George Taylor converted 3 times in difficult kicking conditions.

Well done lads it was a great team effort.

UNDER 13s

UPPER CLAPTON 34 STANFORD 5

Stanford knew they were up against it, as Upper Clapton had scored 47 points against them only weeks before. To make matters worse, 7 players were unavailable for selection. The start of the match could not have been worse. The home side took advantage of some poor tackling and rucking to score 3 unanswered tries early in the first half. Stanford then started to play some rugby and the commitment from the away side in the tackles and rucks improved as the game went on.

Upper Clapton were camped on Stanford's line for several minutes when some terrific defence caused a turnover and winger Louis Pike showed his pace to run the length of the pitch to score. The game was evenly contested until late on in the second half, when injuries meant that Stanford were playing short.