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Writtle Wanderers RUFC |
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Writtle Wanderers RUFC |
January 2007 Match Reports
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Ilford Wanderers 1st XV v Writtle Wanderers 1st XV
Essex 1
WON 3 - 12
Scorers:
Tries: Chepato, Janes
Conv: Clark
Man of the Match:
Robin Wallbank
After a few weeks of missing reports, this week we have two for you:
Report by Steve Clark
Writtle welcomed 2007 with a deserved win at Ilford. Coach
Mark Rawlinson enjoyed the rare situation of having a near-full strength squad
to choose from & despite the terrible conditions, the men in orange turned in a
solid performance.
Ilford had the majority of the ball first 20 minutes, using the slope & breeze
to camp themselves in the Writtle 22. However, for all their possession and
thanks to strong defensive work from Writtle, they were unable to put points on
the board.
With a good defensive platform, Writtle were able to begin to take the game back
to Ilford and from a well won line out, fly-half Mike Brown saw space behind the
Ilford backs and kicked through, triggering a foot race to the ball.
Indecisiveness between the Ilford wing and full-back saw Steve Clark sneak in to
hack the ball on to the Ilford try line. Tey Chepato was the first to react and
touched down for 5 points. Clark converted.
Ilford rallied & won a penalty in front of the post which was converted to see
the half time scores at 3 – 7.
More of the same was asked for at half time and the Writtle side continued their
efforts in the second half. Pleasing to see was the strong work at the rucks and
mauls, with Writtle regularly turning ball over. Flankers Gary Hall and Lee
Amman were constantly involved, as too was Rawlinson at No. 8 who was carrying
the ball well from the back of the scrum.
Following 20 minutes of Writtle pressure and what appeared to be a good try from
David Hyett turned down, Writtle finally managed to extend their lead. The
Writtle pack provided a solid scrum and a good move between Brown and Tim Janes
saw the inside centre race through to score.
Despite their efforts, Ilford were unable to find a hole in the Writtle defence
to score. Two tackles of note came from Robin Wallbank and Brown, both of which
left their opponents in no doubt that they would find any comeback tough.
With this good win under the belt and the knowledge of a strengthening squad
building, the Wanderers will be looking forward to their next game versus East
London. Kick of 2.15 at the Writtle College Sports Field.
Report by John Smillie
The Wanderers began their new year campaign this Saturday away
to Ilford and it was a very wet and muddy pitch that welcomed the boys in
orange. Writtle were looking for a much improved performance over the team
they had beaten only a few weeks before at Fox Burrows Lane. After a
slight delay due to a problem with the referee the game got underway.
Writtle made good ground from the kick off, looking to use their runners to
effect. Early on the Wanderers made a good break down the right hand side
through John Smillie who managed to stay on his feet and off load to Ben Campion
in support. However Writtle were unable to capitalise on the advantage as
the conditions played their part in the numerous knocks-on that were to follow.
The pack had to deal not only with the soft ground but also with the new
scrummaging laws recently introduced. This took a little time and lead to
a few scrappy scrums which saw the visitors turned 90° to give away the ball.
Ilford did well from this and made some good runs into the Writtle 22 before
forcing two penalties from infringements at the rucks. Fortunately for
Writtle both kicks were missed. Ilford kept the pressure on Wanderers,
looking to keep the ball tight and work there way up the field. They
managed to get near to the Writtle try line but never really looked to threaten
with a score.
The deadlock was finally broken after the first quarter when Ilford finally
converted a penalty. 3 - 0. Writtle responded well from this and some good
support from the forwards who had been struggling a bit up to now enabled the
backs to try and move ball wide and use the pace of the returning Steve Clark.
It was Clark who made the break for Writtle and after the ball was spilled, but
knocked on by Ilford, it allowed Tey Chepato, who up to this point had been all
over the park, not only in attack but in defence, to kick the ball along the
ground then follow it over for the opening try. This was converted by
Clark to take the score to 3 - 7.
The score seemed to lift the Wanderers and spirits looked high even though the
weather was worsening. Lee Amman was in his usual good form carrying the ball
forward and was supported well by Mark Rawlinson at No. 8 and Gary Hall on the
opposite flank. However a bad decision at a penalty meant Clark missed out
on the chance to add another 3 points before the break.
Half time saw only one change with Smillie going off after a nasty clash of
heads. This allowed Dominic Pearce to take up his place at tight head,
which I'm sure he welcomed after watching the first half in what were bitterly
cold conditions.
The confidence was clear to see in the Writtle side in the second period after
they managed to keep Ilford from touching down in the first half. Good
line out ball from Wayne Symons gave the forwards good platforms for well
directed shunts up the field, with one piece of play taking the ball a good 25
yards up the field. This was used well by the backs but unfortunately they were
held up short of the line.
Although Ilford had some good play of their own they never really looked like
they would threaten with the ball in hand. An intense period in the middle of
the pitch saw both sides dig deep with scrummage after scrummage with good
defence from both sides. The final 20 mins however were all Writtle.
Mike Brown lead the backs with great defence. Tim Janes and Chepato look good
making ground through the centres whilst in the forwards Robin Wallbank and
Pearce seemed to have stabilised the pack after the problems early on in the
game.
Writtle's second score came very soon after. Again good rolling ball from
the forwards allowed the Wanderers to press towards the Ilford try line, before
Phil Robinson released Janes for a well worked try to the right of the posts.
Unfortunately Clark missed the conversion but Writtle were now 9 points up and
looking strong. 3 - 12.
With the game closing in, Writtle knew that with good defence and tight ball
they could close the game out. Wallbank put in a massive tackle towards
the back end of the game outlining the Wanderer's commitment to the game even in
these late stages. It was excellent to see the delight in the players
faces when the final whistle went. Not only had they produced a good win
in terrible conditions, but the team spirit which had faltered a little over the
past months was once again back amongst the players. By no means perfect,
but a much improved, gritty and motivated performance by the boys.
Writtle Wanderers 2nd XV v Ongar 1st XV
Friendly
Report by Mike Williams
LOST 0 - 19
Man of the Match: Glen Richards
Christmas and New Year has been and gone and the mighty
Wanderers turned up at fortress Fox Burrows for their first fixture of 2007 with
a friendly against an Ongar side from several divisions above Writtle.
Spirits were high in the home team dressing room with Jeremy "Flex Bicep" Court
playing the wise cracking fool. The changing room erupted upon the arrival
of Bernard Denenga, with players so surprised to see Denenga arrive before the
shirts had even turned up! Rumours were abound that Denenga had been told
the meet time was 1pm on 6th January 2006!!
The weather at kick off was atrocious with players and supporters subjected to
that fine rain that soaks your through. The opening exchanges of the match saw
Writtle competing well up front in the difficult conditions. The severe weather
was making handling the ball and expansive rugby nigh on impossible and Writtle
kept things simple banging the ball up the middle whenever possible. The
defence was resolute in keeping the Ongar side at bay with some crunching
tackles from the likes of Court and Dick Battye. Court had put in a metronomic
performance before crying like the little girl he is at getting a graze on his
knee and was replaced by Gareth Frensham.
Both sides pushed hard to get the first score of the day and Writtle came close
on several occasions with a series of lineouts and rolling mauls deep in the
Ongar 22. However some superb defence from the travelling Ongar players kept
Writtle at bay. Indeed it was Ongar who came the closest to registering
the first points of the day. A breakaway from inside their own half saw
Ongar with an overlap in the corner. However good defence from Lloyd
Hariram and a superb crunching tackle from Martyn Howarth kept the score at 0-0
going into the half time interval. The severe weather conditions meant
that the planned half time entertainment from the Village People was cancelled,
much to the distress of the injured Court.
The second half continued in a similar vein to the first with Glen Richards
again proving his value at the breakdown and replacement centre Padraig showing
his considerable strength making some excellent ground time after time.
Scrummaging was beginning to get harder with the adverse weather conditions but
Writtle continued to compete well in the scrum with Martin Fetherstone starting
to make some good yards from the back of the scrum.
It was lapses in concentration that ultimately led to Writtle losing this game
by conceding 3 unanswered tries. With players beginning to tire and the
defence becoming stretched the Ongar side took advantage to rack up 19 second
half points and secure their victory. In fairness 2 of the 3 tries should
have been prevented and with better concentration the game could have ended much
closer. The mistakes made will need to be eradicated for next weekends eagerly
anticipated cup game, which has already been billed by BBC Sport as the biggest
match of 2007 so far.
All in all a good run out for the Wanderers in readiness for next weeks game.
With most players fit and available competition for next weeks places should
also be fierce. The evenings festivities went off with a bang with the champagne
flowing to celebrate Dr Dick's Christmas engagement. Subway was not visited and
reports have been circulated indicating a severe drop in their profits with a
lack of activity from the Wanderer's players in recent months!
Writtle Wanderers 1st XV v East London 1st XV
Essex 1
WON 46 - 0
Scorers:
Tries: Nicolle 3, Janes 2, Campion, Hyatt
Conv: Clark 4
Pen: Clark
Man of the Match:
Dave Hyett
Once again, we have two reports for you this week:
Report by John Smillie
The first of four home ties saw visitors East London visit Fox
Burrows Lane this Saturday. With much improved conditions from the
previous week it looked like a good afternoon for rugby despite a fairly strong
breeze.
After winning the toss and choosing to play with the advantage of the wind, it
was down to East London to get the game underway. Both teams started
fairly well looking to keep the ball tight in order to gain ground. The
Writtle forwards looked steady as they produced good ball setting up the backs
and allowing them to make good yards through the gaps. However the
Wanderers seemed to be trying to play too quickly and this inevitably lead to
some silly knock -ons and spilled ball.
However, the structure of the game looked good and both backs and forwards were
running good lines. Tey Chepato was looking sharp in the centre as were
Ben Campion and Dave Hyett in the pack. After a fairly even first twenty
minutes, it was East London who had the first points scoring opportunity after
Writtle gave away a penalty for holding the ball on the floor. This was
missed and shortly after Steve Clark slotted a penalty for the Wanderers to take
the boys in unfamiliar black into a 3 - 0 lead.
East London were let back into the game from a short spate of penalties from
Writtle. Due to the wind they chose to use quick ball each time which
caught Writtle on the back foot on occasion and allowed them to make a good
break through their winger up the right hand side of the field. However
good defensive tackling once again by the Writtle, in particular Robin Wallbank
and Mike Brown, forced the ball out for a throw in. Good rolling ball from
this set piece allowed the Wanderers forwards to walk the ball up field before
releasing the backs out wide. Good hands and depth of running saw the ball
moved quickly down the line allowing John Nicolle to go over in the corner for
the first five pointer of the game. Clark was unable to convert but the
Wanderers went into the break 8 - 0 up.
The second half, which turned out to be some of the best rugby Writtle have
played this season, started well. Wayne Symons put good pressure on from
the kick off putting the catcher on the floor to allow the chasing forwards to
steal the ball from the ruck. Again Hyett and Campion were in support to
make the heavy yards up the centre of the pitch. The Backs were starting
to open up with East London struggling to cope with pace which they provided.
Brown was cutting in well from the wing which only added strength to the Writtle
attack. Captain Tim Janes was the next to score for Writtle after breaking
two tackles to go over just wide of the posts, converted by Clark for a 15 - 0
lead.
Writtle then made two changes with John Smillie and Tommy Young coming on for
Dominic Pierce and coach Mark Rawlinson, and were greeted with a cluster of
scrummages. However Writtle stayed solid in the scrums and once again
provided good clean ball for the backs to run off. Janes made another good
break and looked set to score but a very good covering tackle from the East
London full back brought him down short. The forwards were there quickly
to clean up and allowed the backs to move the ball out wide once again for
Nicolle to go over once more for his brace. Clark's conversion effort fell
considerably short due to the strong wind but the Wanderers were looking good at
20 - 0 up.
Writtle's confidence was now evident and they looked to retain the pace the game
was now at. Good running straight from the restart saw the ball run
straight back into the East London twenty-two. The forwards once again kept the
ball tight and marched towards the try line. East London were unable to
stop this and Campion was able to touch down after a great team effort.
Again the kick was missed but Writtle were looking comfortable at 25 - 0.
Apart from a few good runs from a strong East London No. 8, the visitors didn't
seem to have an answer to the Writtle pressure. A busy period by the boys
saw Janes break through again for another try under the post. This was
converted by Clark after a bit of luck as the ball struck the upright to fall
over and Writtle took another seven points and extend the lead to 32 - 0.
Good kicking from Will Young against a strong wind gave Writtle more vital
yards. This combined with good support from across the board saw the ball
moved up the middle once again. It was from this passage of play that
Hyett was awarded for a strong performance with a try of his own, just making
the line of the back of a maul. A good position allowed Clark to convert once
again. 39 - 0.
With only a short time left until the end of the game East London's heads had
dropped, offering no real threat in any of the set pieces it was down to Writtle
to close the game out. Campion made a break up the centre once again and
off loaded well to Symons who had made great ground to end up in support.
Symons took the ball over the try line but had the ball kicked from his hands as
he touched down. Unluckily for East London the ball remained over the score line
and Nicolle was there to pinch the try instead taking his tally for three for
the day. This was converted to take the score to 46 - 0.
The game closed out and Writtle can be glad of a very good second half
performance. Once again the spirit in the team is returning and the boys
even managed a ten minute warm down. All in all a good performance.
Report by Steve Clark
The Wanderers climbed to fifth in the table following a
comprehensive victory over East London on Saturday.
East London seemed to adapt better to the blustery conditions and despite
playing into a strong wind they managed to put the home side under pressure for
large parts of the first half. Writtle were making their task all the more
testing due to constant handling errors and conceding too many penalties
enabling their opponent’s time to clear their lines and organise their defence.
It took some twenty five minutes for the home side to settle and after sustained
pressure they began to win penalties in the East London half. Having
missed his first attempt at the posts, full-back Steve Clark converted the
second to take the score to 3-0. With this kick Clark achieved a personal
milestone of 1000 points for the club.
With a score under their belts the Wanderers began to grow in confidence and
started to take the game to the visitors. The ball was moved wide to give wing
John Nicolle the chance to attack his opposing number. The Wanderer left
his opposing man with little doubt that he was in for a tough afternoon as he
cruised past him to score.
With only an eight point cushion moving into the second half, the Wanderers knew
that they needed to up their game considerably. Knowing that a kicking
game into the strong headwind would be pointless, the home side opted to keep
the ball in hand and use their mobile forwards to make yards up the pitch.
This they did and to great success with the marauding men in orange punching
holes in the East London defence at will.
What followed was a memorable half of rugby with an excellent display of support
play and offloading the ball in the tackle. Second row Ben Campion topped
an excellent display with a try as too did hooker Dave Hyett. Captain Tim
Janes ran some defence splitting lines to grab a brace and Nicolle laid claim to
the match ball with a classy hat-trick. An added bonus was to see Dave McKenna
back on the field following a two year absence through injury.
After a testing first half of the season, the Wanderers seem to have found
their feet in Essex League One and are growing confidence each week.
They must now continue to put the in the effort and raise their game again
to compete with the higher paced sides in the division.
Writtle Wanderers 2nd XV v Upminster 2nd XV
John Adler Trophy - Semi-Final
Report by Martyn Howarth
LOST 15 - 34
Scorers:
Tries: Fetherstone, Howarth, Underhill
Man of the Match:
Jerome Manson
Writtle Wanderers 2nd XV assembled at a windy Fox Burrows Lane on Saturday ready to face two time cup winners, Upminster 2nd XV, in the John Adler Trophy semi-final. There was little doubt that this was to be a very tough game, with Upminster playing a full five Merit Table divisions above Writtle, but with over half the squad having attended training sessions in the build up to this game, there was a genuine confidence about the side.
The game got underway with Writtle having the advantage of the wind and slope - something that the large home pack were intent on taking advantage of. A knock-on from the kick off gave the visitors a scrum, but they were put under huge pressure by the Writtle eight and could not secure clean ball. After a few minutes of scrappy play, Writtle scrum half Dave Rowan made one of his trademark breaks down the blind side. His floated pass fell agonizingly at prop Martyn Howarth's fingertips as he strived to support the Club President and the ball was knocked on.
Writtle continued to mount the pressure in the tight with Jerome Manson and Matt Morris performing well in the lineouts. From a lineout inside the Upminster twenty-two, Writtle secured good ball and began a rolling maul towards the line. Upminster were enable to stop the orange juggernaut and No. 8 Martin Fetherstone secured the touch down for an unconverted try.
This opening score probably served to galvanize an Upminster side who have been unbeaten in this competition for the last three season and also caused the Wanderers to ease off a little when they should have looked to up the pressure. As a result, the cup holders were able get their back line firing with their wily fly-half calling the shots and looking to expose gaps in the Writtle defence. Despite some solid tackling, Writtle were forced to back-pedal and eventually ran out of defenders as Upminster brought the scores level again.
The game was clearly developing into one where the Wanderers had the upper hand in the forwards, but the visitors had the pace and guile in the backs. Despite the efforts of the Writtle pack to play the ball in the tight channels, Upminster were able to make the most of their possession and put a couple more tries on the board before half time. It was a shame that Writtle's speedy wingers, Simon Cook and Lloyd Hariram saw so little ball, but with the Upminster pressure in the centres any ball that game out from the pack was being lost in midfield.
The second half began with Writtle still believing that they could take the game back to Upminster, albeit up the hill and into the wind. Only a couple of tries separated the sides and the Upminster forwards had found the first forty minutes tough going. Unfortunately, things did not start well as Upminster got the first score of the half in a similar fashion to their earlier efforts.
Writtle were still determined to make a game of it and worked their way back upfield through the forwards. After a number of close calls, Howarth managed to side-step and burrow his way over for a deserved try to give the Writtle side renewed hope.
However, it was not to be as Upminster came back with a couple more tried to take their score up to 34. Despite a late individual effort by replacement prop, Phil Underhill, making a welcome return to the side after being side-lined for several months with a nasty back injury, Writtle were too far behind and had to settle for simply playing for pride.
I don't think there was much doubt at the end of the game that Upminster knew they had been pushed all the way, and they showed their respect for the Wanderers as the teams came off the field. There are certainly some areas that Writtle can continue to improve on and some selection decisions to be made about best positions, but Writtle must look to keep up this level of performance if they are to work their way up the Merit Table structure. Our best wishes go to Upminster for their third John Adler Trophy final...
Writtle Wanderers 1st XV v Old Brentwoods 1st XV
Friendly
WON 35 - 0
Scorers:
Tries: Amman 3, Chepato, Messo, Smillie
Conv: Clark
Pen: Clark
Man of the Match:
Lee Amman
Once again, two reports for you:
Report by John Smillie
Another cold and windy day at Fox Burrows Lane saw visitors
Old Brentwoods take on the Wanderers this week. After a rather humiliating
defeat to the team in blue only a few weeks ago in the President's Shield,
Writtle were looking to gain some revenge for the one point defeat.
The Wanderers won the toss and opted to play with the wind in the first half.
As has been the case over the last few weeks, Writtle retained the ball well
when in possession which allowed them to take the ball up the centre of the
field. However, Writtle did look a little sloppy in defence as a number of
first time tackles were missed, allowing Old Brentwoods space to make yards of
their own. Writtle knew what was missing and looked to tighten this up in
order to make the most of their first half advantage.
Lee Amman was running well from his unfamiliar start at No. 8 and the Writtle
forwards were there in time to secure most of the loose ball, providing the boys
in orange a good platform to use their strength to carry the ball. Old
Brentwoods didn't appear to have an answer to this and Writtle were able to
threaten the Brentwoods try line. John Smillie fell a few yards short as the
drive came to an end, but scrum half Phil Robinson was able to move the ball out
wide for Amman to go over for Writtle's first try. This was converted by
Steve Clark for a 7 - 0 lead.
Writtle got away to a good start from the kick-off, running the ball well
upfield. Will Young was distributing the ball well to his runners both in
the backs and forwards. Old Brentwoods failure to secure the loose ball on
the floor lead to another penalty for handling on the ground. Clark took
on the tricky kick in the gusty conditions to extend the home side's lead to 10
points.
Shortly after the restart, Old Brentwoods went a man down after their No. 8 was
sin-binned for impeding play at the breakdown. Writtle looked to use this
advantage as Dave Hyett took the quick tap and made ground up the middle.
Writtle were forced out wide but a good rolling maul from the Wanderers'
forwards allowed them to walk the ball back in field and approach the Old
Brentwoods try line once more. Smillie took the ball from the back and
managed to force himself over from about 8 yards out for an unconverted try.
Tey Chepato rounded off the scoring for the first half as he made a break down
the wing to race 60 yards up field and score in the corner. This was also
unconverted but the Wanderers went into the break with a comfortable lead, 20 -
0.
The second half got underway much as the first finished. Writtle looked
dominant in pretty much all areas and the Old Brentwoods team were struggling to
keep their tempers under control. The lack of cohesion amongst them lead
to them giving away two or three penalties on the trot.
Amman's second try came as a result of one of these penalties as he forced his
way over the try line to the right of the posts. Clark was unable to add
the extras from the kick as the ball held up dramatically in the wind.
With half an hour to go Writtle called the changes. With the 2nd XV game
cancelled we had the luxury of a good bench as Dom Pierce, Robin Wallbank,
Smillie and Matt Morris gave way to Gareth Frensham, Martyn Howarth, Glen
Richards and John Stimpson in the forwards and Tim Janes and Mike Brown gave way
to Ben Messo and Morgan Farrell in the backs.
Messo made an almost instant mark on the game, matching Chepato's earlier effort
with a great individual try from about 60 yards out. With time to spare
Messo touched down under the posts. Clark had the chance to add another
two points but, kicking into the wind and sun, Old Brentwoods managed to get a
touch on the ball to stop it going over.
Just as the game looked as it was about to close out Farrell was put clear on
the left hand side of the field. Unable to make it around the last man, he
managed a good pass inside to the supporting Amman who took the ball over for
his hat-trick. Once again the try was unconverted but Writtle had put in
another good display.
The boys in Orange have now had 81 unanswered points in the last two games.
This is a token of the hard work and good defence show by all the team and is
hopefully something we can carry on and extend the unbeaten start to 2007.
Next week sees Bancroft visiting Fox Burrows Lane in an Essex 1 league game.
A win for the Wanderers will see them cement their place in the top half of the
Essex 1 table.
Report by Steve Clark
The Wanderers managed gain some consolation for their one point defeat to OBs in the Presidents Shield with a comfortable victory at Fox Burrows Lane. Old Brentwoods came into the fixture full of confidence as they are currently unbeaten in Essex 2 and looking sure to win promotion this season. Conditions were far from conducive for good rugby with a strong wind blowing down the ground and mud under foot. However, both sides looked to play an expansive game.
It was the Brentwood side that had the better of the opening minutes and they spent much time embedded in the Wanderers twenty two. However, for all their possession they failed to put points on the board. The Writtle side then began to settle into the game and edged ahead with 3 points from the boot of Steve Clark and a good forwards effort resulting in John Smillie touching down for a try.
Encouraged by this Writtle continued to press and good build up play resulted in Lee Amman and Tey Chepato both scoring tries. With a 20 point deficit Old Brentwoods had to come back at Writtle strongly in the second half. To their credit they continued to try and throw the ball around in an attempt to breakdown the home side. However, too often, good line breaking runs resulted in a knock on or forward pass and so the away side were unable to get off the mark.
Writtle continued to keep the score board ticking over and looked to run the ball from their own half. This tactic worked well as the went on to score three more tries. Replacement wing, Ben Messo and Amman, completing his hat-trick, were the men to finish of the moves.
The Wanderers return to league action next week and look to maintain their unbeaten start to 2007 against Bancroft. Kick off is 2.15 at the Writtle College playing field.
Writtle Wanderers 1st XV v Bancroft 1st XV
Essex 1
Report by Steve Clark
WON 40 - 10
Scorers:
Tries: Clark, Stimpson, Messo, Brown, Janes, Symons
Convs: Clark 4, Robinson
Man of the Match:
Ben Campion
Writtle continued their winning ways in 2007 with a comprehensive win over Bancroft. With the visitors fighting for survival in Essex League One and the Wanderers aiming for a top four finish, there was much to play for and what ensued was a physical contest that, at times threatened to boil over.
Recent encounters between the two sides have seen Bancroft start the stronger and this game was to be no exception. Bancroft started with the greater sense of urgency and looked the more likely to start the scoring. It was not to be however as Writtle wing, Ben Messo, scooped up his own kick to dive over two tackling opponents to score. Steve Clark converted to open up a 7-0 lead for Writtle.
Boosted by this score, Writtle settled into the game and began to ask more questions of the the visitors. Strong work from pack saw the ball mauled some twenty metres with prop John Stimpson getting the final touchdown to score.
For all their good handling in their backs and a couple of unsuccessful raids on the Wanderers try line, Bancroft were unable to get off the mark. Writtle found themselves back in the Bancroft twenty-two, from where, following a difference of opinion between Writtle flanker Tommy Young and a Bancroft player, both saw straight red for exchanging blows. At 14-a-side there was more space for both sides and full-back Clark was the first to benefit, latching on to a pop pass from No. 8 Mark Rawlinson and then stepping his man to score. He converted to take the half time scores to 19-0.
Again Bancroft started the second half the stronger but this time they managed to get points on the board, shipping the ball wide to score in the corner.
This try seemed to re-awaken the Wanderers and led by several line breaking runs by the exceptional Ben Campion, Writtle upped their game. Centre Tim Janes bagged his customary try and Mike Brown, who had switched from wing to fly-half, showed good foot work to score another. Try of the day saw a move that passed slickly through the Wanderers' hands before Wayne Symons, ever willing in support got his reward with the try.
With the game now won the Wanderers only frustration was gifting the visitors a try in the final minute. The game ended 40 - 10 to the Wanderers. Next week sees a week off from league action as Writtle travel up to old foes Clacton for a friendly fixture.
Romford & Gidea Park 4th XV v Writtle Wanderers 2nd XV
BL Merit Table
Report by Martyn Howarth
WON 10 - 35
Scorers:
Tries: Howarth 2, Frensham, Morris, Featherstone, Cook
Conv: Rowan
Pen: Rowan
Man of the Match:
Jerome Manson
The Wanderers 2nd XV travelled down to Romford for this important BL Merit Table game with a strong squad of 15 but no substitutes. However, with a exceptionally strong pack of which seven have played 1st XV rugby this season, they were confident that they could notch up another win as they looked to secure a place in the top four of the Merit Table as the end of the regular season approaches.
The game started in some disarray, with Romford Fixtures Secretary Tony Healey kindly stepping in to referee after the appointed ref had failed to show up. Romford also generously lent Writtle a man whilst Morgan Farrell was making his way through traffic to the ground.
From the off the men in orange showed that they meant business up front. With an exceptionally powerful Writtle scrummage, it was clear from the first "crouch, touch, pause, engage" that Romford were going to have a tough afternoon at the coal face! In the loose the exchanges were a little less one sided, but this was largely due to players handling on the floor and going over the top at rucks.
Writtle's first try came from a lineout drive, where Jerome Manson secured good ball and Writtle mauled their way over the line, Gareth Frensham making the touch down. Shortly after this, a new referee arrived - his own game having been cancelled - and enabled Romford's Healey to return to the Romford bench from where he later re-entered the fray as a player.
I'm a little unsure as to the order of the following scores, but Writtle found themselves under some pressure in the back line as the Romford three-quarters used the limited ball they were receiving to good effect to score a try out wide. Writtle responded with a fine break by fly-half Simon Cook who cut inside his man to score under the posts and give Dave Rowan an easy conversion. Romford managed to respond once again with another break from a long way out to leave the Wanderers defence stretched and keep themselves in the game.
I think the half time score was 12 - 10 to the Wanderers, which didn't reflect the Wanderers domination of the game. However, Romford had made the most of their opportunities and Writtle had not pressed home their advantage.
In the second half, Writtle were determined to take the game to the Romford pack who were starting to tire. They started by taking 3 points from a penalty in mid-field which saw the sin-binning of one of the Romford pack. This gave Writtle an even greater advantage in the forwards and, awarded a penalty about 10 yards out from the Romford line, Writtle elected for the scrum and were rewarded with a push-over try for No. 8 Martin Featherstone.
Second row, Matt Morris, also got on the score sheet with another well worked try in the forwards. At this stage, Romford were really under pressure and their heads had dropped. A defensive lineout went badly wrong as the Romford hooker overthrew into the hands of Writtle lock Martyn Howarth. He broke through the line and beat the Romford scrum-half with a "Samoan Sidestep" to score.
With the final whistle now approaching, Writtle took the chance to throw the ball out wide and Farrell, making a rare appearance in the centres, broke through the midfield. With just the full-back to beat, he found the ever-eager Howarth racing up in support and, having drawn his man spun the pass out. Howarth just had enough gas to make the twenty yards to the line where he touched down despite the attentions of the Romford cover.
The final whistle sounded as the conversion was missed and Writtle could be proud of a superb forward effort well supported by the new look back line. Manson, the only loose forward not to get on the score-sheet was given Man of Match - possibly out of sympathy or maybe as he had slipped the coach a fiver - or possibly for his dominance in the lineout and work on the ground.
Writtle maintain their place in the top four of the Merit Table and with two more games to go hope to claim a place in the BL Semi Final on 31st March.