Chelmsford 1st XV Men v Woodford RFC

This was a disappointing result for Chelmsford against the top of the league Woodford who are unbeaten in the league this season. Chelmsford had a number of changes from the previous week, but the game was put out of reach in the first half when Chelmsford were playing down the slope.

A major contributary factor were the number of penalties they gave away. Some eleven penalties were awarded against them in the first half whilst Woodford had only one. Woodford took the lead from a penalty, given for a high tackle. Some of Chelmsford’s first up tackling was sub standard and Woodford went further ahead when tackles were missed in the centre of the pitch and the Woodford centre sprinted over for a converted try.

Chelmsford could not get consistent territorial advantage due the penalty count, they won good ball in the lineout, and although the scrums were generally sound, the next score for Woodford came from a scrum won by Chelmsford which the Woodford scrum half somehow gathered and sprinted the thirty metres to score a converted try.

It was not all one way traffic and Chelmsford’s pressure at the end of the half allowed George Wood to plummet over after some sustained pressure.

Half time: Chelmsford 5 Woodford 17

The second half saw a much even split regarding the penalty count and despite playing up the slope, Chelmsford spent much more time in their opponent’s half and went close to scoring on a number of occasions. The Chelmsford defence was brittle and as the half continued, Woodford, through hard direct running, scored three further tries and a penalty. Chelmsford have yet to play sides in the bottom four of the league and they will be hoping for easier opposition in the weeks to come

Next Week Chelmsford travel to north Norfolk where they take on Holt K.O. 3.00pm

Match Report by Andy Green
Photo by Nigel Wood