Woodford 40 Chelmsford 5 WOODFORD under-15s secured the Essex Division One title at the weekend after a superb victory over Chelmsford.

Woodford 40 Chelmsford 5

WOODFORD under-15s secured the Essex Division One title at the weekend after a superb victory over Chelmsford.

After winning promotion last season, the youngsters went one better to wrap up the title against a team fielding five Essex players.

Woodford attacked from the start with Alistair Nicholls twice coming close to opening the scoring, before Matt Grogan did after crashing over from a great break from scrum-half Cameron Dutch.

The next score was a definite candidate for try of the season, with every member of the front row and second row linking down the right wing, allowing prop Ian Bukenya to touch down.

Ryan Davis converted to give Woodford a 12-0 lead and there was no looking back.

A lovely try followed from centre Liam Sanderson, who dummied his way through the Chelmsford defence to score a great individual effort, while Davis again converted.

Not to be outdone, top scorer James Piras then picked the ball up in his own 22-metre area and sprinted nearly the length of the pitch, handing off several Chelmsford defenders to score another superb try.

Matt Grogan went over once more as Woodford's first-half performance was complete.

After the break, the hosts took their foot off the gas and allowed Chelmsford to score a consolation try, but centre Alex Stroud scored a superb solo effort under the posts to cement victory for Woodford.

Woodford face Braintree next Sunday in the semi-final of the Essex Cup.

n Woodford under-15s B also enjoyed an excellent win, as they beat Chelmsford B 39-0.