A disappointing result to end what has been a strong season, with the team winning 18 of their 25 games. It was always going to be hard to get back the form the team had shown in their last game at the South Coast Festival, but a sleepy, and lackluster Braintree took to the field for this end-of-season friendly against recently-promoted South Woodham who were determined to make their mark.
Early points from South Woodham shook Braintree out of their stupor and 10 minutes of hard driving play pushed South Woodham back and back. A try from No 8 James Caulfield and leveled the scores, but a second try, successfully converted from South Woodham, was matched by a try from Fly Half Joe Young, but the conversion went wide.
The second half was a similar picture, with flashes of good play from Braintree, interspersed with long periods where South Woodham made all the running. Tries were traded one-for-one with points from Lock Joe Gerharty and centre Joss Adams. But sloppy defence from a line out deep in the 22 allowed South Woodham to snatch the game.
Tries: Caulfield, Young, Gerharty, Adams