Match Report- Woodford 3s v Old Cooperians 2s 19 September 2015 34-26
Woodford RFCs 3rd team had their first league game season on Saturday, and put on a great display of rugby at Highams. Woodford had a strong squad out, with the welcome return of several old faces, including James Clack and Tom James, along with several new players recruited for the new season.
Woodford started the stronger of the teams were and were on the front foot for the majority of the first half. Despite a strong defensive display by Old Cooperians, Jos Ferrari opened the scoring with a try in the corner. Ben Lawrence then ran in a second try after a fantastic kick through from scrum-half Tino Daga. Ben Lawrence scored a second try following a strong kick through from Jos Ferrari. Woodford went in leading 19-0 at the break, having been on top for the majority of the game.
The second half was a lot more even with Old Cooperians rallying well, despite several injuries, and had a lot more attacking possession. Ben Lawrence scored a further try to complete his hat-trick following a great line break by Jos Ferrari. Old Cooperians scored a try, before Nick Voo added another try for Woodford, running from within his own half to score in the corner. With the score at 31-5, complacency snuck into Woodfords game and Old Cooperians started to run hard and directly at Woodford, causing several line breaks, which ultimately led to them scoring three tries in quick succession. The third of them was a great individual try, directly from their kick off following a Tom James drop goal.
With the score 34-28 to Woodford, and with Old Cooperians on the front foot, Woodford looked in danger of throwing away victory in a game which they had controlled. Fortunately the team were able to rally and saw out the game to come away with a deserved victory. Both sides can be proud of their performance, and will do well this season if they can perform at a similar level throughout the year.