Our fourth regular fixture of the season saw Braintree travel south to the home of Woodford rugby club. With the rain coming down for most of the morning, the pitch stood up well but was heavier than in previous fixtures.

With heavy clouds in the air and the threat of thunderstorms forecast the match got underway. Braintree must have taken inspiration from the weather reports because they got off to an electric start. A fabulous quick passing move from the kick off saw them cross over to score in the first 20 seconds of the match. This seemed to set the tone for the match and Braintree contested well and looked to pass the ball to set runners into space whenever possible. The pack once again contested well and in this match the backs really stepped up to be counted and produced several really good passages of play.

The first half was a real end to end match. After Braintree drew first blood, Woodford hit back with a try of their own which they managed to force over the line. Braintree dug in and once again worked the fast men into space to restore their advantage, only to be pegged back again by a similarly well worked try by the hosts to make the scores level at the break.

The second half saw Woodford draw first blood to put their noses in front. This time it was Braintree’s turn to level the tie with a breakout try from the center. As the match wore on the superior squad numbers of the home side began to tell as Braintree began to tire. By the final whistle Woodford had managed to score three more times.

This performance was by far the best performance by Braintree for some time. Full of grit, determination, hard running and some free-flowing passing. More fitness training required and when the full squad is available a real push to continue the upward curve.