Eton Manor vs Woodford II

It may have rained all week but the weather on Saturday was nice and sunny and the Manor backs breathed a sigh of relief.
The Manor players got to the club early and got ready to tear into their local rivals Woodford. The dislike and rivalry between the two clubs goes way back and this was always going to be a tough, aggressive encounter….Well that’s what I drilled into the younger players anyway. It was great to see so many older Manor boys choose to watch the 2nd team game when they realised it was Woodford we were playing even though the 1st team were also playing. By the time kick off arrived most of the team were chomping at the bit and I knew that this bunch of young Manor players would not be bullied.

The first 10mins was evenly matched with Woodford contesting the breakdowns well but Manor looking dangerous in the open. It was Woodford who opened the scoring with a well struck penalty after a sustained period of pressure inside the Manor 22 (0 – 3)
This woke the Manor side up and now they were the better side with Richie Woods stealing Woodfords line outs non stop and the Manor pack heavily disrupting Woodfords scrums, this meant the Manor backs started to see the ball more frequently and it was only going to be a matter of time. Manor’s 1st try came after a half break by Cushy who offloaded to Ritchie Woods on the burst and the big 2nd row and enough power and pace to dot down under the posts. The conversion was slotted by Jack White (7 – 3). The game ebbed and flowed for the rest of the first half with Manor looking the team most likely to score but a bad final pass, a dropped ball or good Woodford defence kept the Manor team at bay. The only part of the first half where Manor was really being out played was at the breakdown where Woodford were very sharp at turning over any isolated players. Half time score was 7 – 3

After a gee up from a few of the older players the second half was a one sided affair. The young players now began to show their superior fitness, subs were brought on to keep heavy legs fresh and now Manor was starting to throw the ball around and cut through Woodfords tiring defence. In the end it was Chris Vickers who scored a try when he picked a nice hard line straight through the middle of the Woodford pack and without a finger being laid on him ghosted over the try line. Jack white missed the conversion. (12 – 3).
Now Manor was winning every facet of the game and Woodford were creaking. Next to cross the line was winger Rodell who sprinted over the line after quick hands from the back line caused an overlap. The conversion was missed. (17 – 3).
Woodford to their credit started to push hard for their first score the game and they thought they had got it until a cracking tackle by scrum half Joe White drilled their forward into touch. Eton Manor should have scored two more tries at this point but for some reason the referee could see forward passes when nobody else could.
Next on the score sheet was that dashingly handsome slim energetic funny man Cushy who with a lovely show and go strolled between the sticks. Jack got the conversion. (24 – 3)
It was now the outside centre Conner’s turn to run a nice line through Woodford’s defence and under the posts to score, he converted his own try with a quick drop goal. (31 – 3)
As the game entered its last 10 minutes Eton Manor’s no.8 Flanner’s was yellow carded for something (nobody knew bar the ref) but he was knackered anyway and seemed pleased.
Woodford now pushed hard for that elusive try and with their only real clean break of the second half caused a slight overlap, and then with an absolute massive forward pass Woodford’s winger went in for the try. This incensed the Manor players and some players couldn’t hold their tongues, the referee quite rightly yellow carded Tony Spurgeon on his last game for the Manor for a year while he goes travelling. In the bar the ref was man enough to admit that the sun was in his eyes and couldn’t see a thing.
Manor were now down to 13 players, but with time running out inside centre Blaine Mckie split the Woodford defence and sprinted under the posts. Jack white got his final conversion of the game. (38 – 8)

This is a fit young side that refuse to be bullied by bigger opposition. That’s three wins out of three.

A good win against a decent enough Woodford side. The fiery encounter didn’t really materialise and the cleanest Manor v Woodford game I’ve ever played in (and there’s been a few) was over.

Still you know what they say “It’s always nice to beat Woodford”