WOODBRIDGE U16 21 BRAINTREE U16 0

Braintree travelled to Suffolk full of confidence but left having learned a few hard lessons which should stand them in good stead for this weekend’s opening Essex League match against Woodford.

The visitors kicked off and Woodbridge brought the ball, phase by phase, from their own 22 all the way back to the Braintree line.

Braintree defended well but couldn’t halt the powerful runs of the strong Woodbridge forwards and, following a chip through from the scrum-half, the ball was recycled and the first try was scored by the home team.

Woodbridge continued to win, retain and recycle ball extremely effectively within the forwards and their backs hardly came into play in the first 20 minutes.

Try as they might, Braintree could not get their hands on the ball, were always second to the breakdown and the inevitable second score came after another long period of possession and pressure.

Braintree then began to force their way back into the game after some astute kicking from Josh Wadforth but never threatened the Woodbridge line and ended the half 14-0 down.

The second half began with more pressure from Woodbridge and the ball stayed in the Braintree half for the first 20 minutes.

The only bright spots were breaks from Luke Flint and Owen Panton, both of which petered out on the Woodbridge ten-metre line.

Woodbridge kept Braintree pinned in their own half and added the final score when more first-up tackles were missed.

Braintree never gave up and tried hard to break down a very well-drilled opposition, but Woodbridge communicated very effectively and harried Braintree into errors they would not normally have made.

This experience will do them good and keep them grounded.