Thurrock 31, Woodford 24

" From this day to the ending of the World,

- - - we in it shall be remembered

- - - we band of brothers." - Henry V, Shakespeare.

THIS was certainly not a game for the faint- hearted.

Woodford, famous for its Members of Parliament, (T. E. Lawrence, who knew a bit about tactics and Winston Churchill, who knew a bit about defence and ultimate victory!) came to Oakfield on Saturday sporting two sets of brothers in the backs; Anthony and Alex Deery, as well as Iain and Alex Meads.

Thurrock, on this occasion, had to make do with the Holloway brothers, but it was this confederacy which would just about make off with the spoils.

On a bitterly cold afternoon at Oakfield both teams ran out on to the field applauded by a splendid "Guard of Honour" provided by Thurrock youth.

Both teams held high expectations, with London and South East Division Regional Two Anglia third-placed Woodford hoping to maintain their title aspirations and Thurrock intent upon mounting their own challenge.

With Tom Wileman injured, Thurrock welcomed back the award-winning Dan Ulph. Dritan Loka, the impressively built lock had a word of advice from former Cardiff and Wales reserve, Roger Lane and Rob Murphy's versatility was called upon as a scrum-half and winger.

Thurrock got into their stride early in the game, with both Kye Holloway and Scott Chitty breaching the opposition defence.

Unfortunately, the wintry conditions led to cold hands, vain attempts to cling on to passes and turn-overs from stationary support!

Very much against the run of play, a series of penalties enabled Woodford to gain a foothold in Thurrock territory.

The pack just did enough to allow second-row, Jake Herga, to bullock his way over for Alex Meads to convert.

Shortly after, a neat "cut- out" pass sent Alex Deery outflanking the defence for as straightforward a try as you will see. Again, Meads landed a terrific conversion. Woodford are well-organised and efficient and their high ranking is well-deserved.

Thurrock had to find a way back into the game and leaders Niall Clifford and skipper, Ben Timson demanded a reaction.

Anthony Catchpole, George Miles and Lawrence Brown were putting in their usual heavy-duty stint. Caolan Watts-Adams and the mulletted Jay Jennings were driving at the heart of the Woodford core, allowing the breakaway unit of Kodie Holloway, Ben Timson and Jamie Orr to feed off their probes.

After half an hour of sheer attrition some creativity from Rhys Cotter and Rob Murphy set up a powerful drive from Jay Jennings.

Blake Burns and Niall Clifford straightened the line to put Harry Reynolds in with a chance. The impressive winger executed a brace of Samoan side-steps (power and pace) to brush off Patrick Vullo and Reilly Altorf-Kaia to open Thurrock's account.

This match -up was compelling viewing as the Oakfielders clawed their way back into the contest.

Rhys Cotter continued to defend with urgency and precision as well as looking dangerous in attack, but still Woodford held out.

When Burns found a good touch, exceptional line-out skills set up the approach fir Lawrence Brown to navigate his way through the morass to the line. Sadly the absence of a T.M.O. led to the try being disallowed and the dreaded goal- line drop- out.

The updated table.

With the visitors leading at half- time, Thurrock needed an urgent riposte.

The coaches and leaders insisted that

"Ambition should be made of sterner stuff!"- Julius Caesar

The inspiration came from the insatiable Henry Bird. The centre powered through a gap and flew past a couple of flat-footed defenders before throwing what looked like a perfect pass to Harry Reynolds.

Regrettably, a retreating sweeper managed to knock the ball back by his finger- tips. Just as the crowd thought the opportunity had been lost, Reynolds appeared doing his best Jude Bellingham impression. He got his foot to the ball, displaying fine footwork to dribble over the line for a fine try to reduce the arrears.

Woodford are nothing if not resilient. They would simply not "sit down"!

The forwards engineered a foothold in the home side's territory and an attacking line-out of their own. As he peeled off from the back,No.8 Fraser Farley- Piercy, rampaged through the defensive ranks like a raging rhinoceros - unstoppable!

Thurrock were shell- shocked and took almost 20 minutes to respond, but this " Band of Brothers" was never going to "die wondering".

With Dan Ulph, Jamie Orr and Ben Timson searching for gaps, Burns slotted a ball into the south-east corner.

Another perfect set- up saw Ulph, tucked in behind the initial drive. The momentum was insurmountable and the referee awarded a penalty try.

Back came Woodford! Even though two players were sent to the bin as they tried to suppress Thurrock's determination, they still managed a penalty as the game reached a crucial stage.

Rob Murphy and Kye Holloway had been cleverly deployed by the coaching staff, interchanging between scrum-half and wing throughout! Both were to play major roles in the final outcome.

As the game reached its dying embers, Thurrock sought to re-ignite their fortunes. A charge down gave Cotter and Clifford the chance to stretch the defence and send Rob Murphy haring for the corner for Thurrock to equalise. Burns was unable to convert a very difficult kick out wide and ,as injury time beckoned, both teams attempted to apply the 'coup de grace'!

With Watts-Adams claiming yet another kick- off, a Thurrock attack was halted by a high tackle. Holloway, impersonating Danny Care, tapped and darted through the immediate cover.

As the ball was sent through the hands, Clifford threw a beautiful inside pass to Henry Bird. What a burst! Sheer jubilation for the vast crowd as he surged through the gears to set the seal on victory.

"All's well that ends well, still the fine's the crown; what'er the course, the end is the reason." - William Shakespeare

This week Thurrock have another home fixture when they entertain old rivals Saffron Walden.

Watch the macth in full via this link.