Newmarket 15 - 17 Woodbridge

In this exciting seesaw match, in which each side scored three tries, the result was decided by the only successful conversion kick. Despite some outstanding individual moments Newmarket's general play was disjointed and they struggled to impose themselves on a Woodbridge side that was prepared to pass the ball through hands from almost anywhere on the pitch.


The fragility of the Newmarket defence was exposed early. Losing their own lineout from the second play of the game, the ball was spun quickly down the line for the Woodbridge winger to score in the corner. Newmarket responded immediately and, playing to their strengths, a series of runs by Aiden Cooper, Dan Downing and Dan Bristow brought them close to the Woodbridge line. From a stolen Woodbridge lineout Chris Le lost his bearings and failed to touch down when well over the try line. However, the missed opportunity was soon put right as Nathan Buckle picked up from the back of the scrum to crash over and even the score.


Despite giving away a number of penalties, Newmarket maintained the pressure and were quickly back in the opposition half. Good running and passing between Buckle and scrum half and man of the match Lewis Heap, opened up an opportunity for Cooper who stretched for a fingertip touchdown.


Just when it looked as if the home side might begin to dominate, their failure to put in tackles cost them dear. The height of the rangy Woodbridge No. 8 had caused problems for Newmarket at every set piece. From a fluffed lineout he gathered the ball and ran, untouched by a Newmarket hand, from centre field in his own half out to the wing and back to touchdown under the posts. His two point conversion on the stroke of half time proved to be the winning margin.


Early in the second half the Woodbridge Number 8 got his second try when more missed tackles allowed him to score in the corner from a tap penalty.

After that Newmarket had their backs to the wall and the inability to retain possession and string together moves meant that they were pinned in their own half for considerable periods. However, they had learned lessons and much sterner defence was exemplified by strong tackling from Jack Watson, Ethan Brown and Ian Moffat. Joe Stafford put in some good clearance kicks and Toby Colletta, at fullback, gathered safely and ran strongly to clear danger.


In the last few minutes of the match Newmarket got back on the front foot and won a series of penalties on the Woodbridge 22 metre line. From the last one Dan Downing powered over the line and grounded the ball amongst a jumble of legs and arms. The missed conversion was the last kick of the match.


At the post-match festivities the parents and players thanked the coaches for their work by presenting them with cards and a Christmas tipple.