There were some minor alterations to the starting line up due to players availability, but this did not impact upon the outcome in any way. Although it is fair to say that their league position indicates that South Woodham Ferrers have found the step up to London 1 North quite challenging, they were committed in defence and showed great resolve.

The back row was superb. Despite the fact that he starting his first full game of rugby in nearly two years, Harrison Pickett really made his presence felt is the early exchanges, carrying the ball with pace and aggression. For eighty minutes our forwards dominated the space and contact, supported the ball carriers and did a fantastic job of legally opposing the opposition at the breakdown; this was epitomised by Rob Pickard and Man of the Match Joe Colcomb who covered an enormous amount of ground and finished the game with a number of key turnovers and the highest tackle count of the Colchester lads.

The individual South Woodham Ferrers players were wholly committed and individually their first line tackling was better than the scoreline would suggest, but what our boys did so well was exploit space at the breakdown and present clear ball for our half backs to move rapidly and on our terms. Half backs Matt Wadling and Jack White have now had a few games together and their collective performance was pretty cohesive. They did the basics well, but Matt was able to make his customary runs and breaks and Jack also utilised some of his subtle kicking skills to good effect.

Oliver Pickett again made a massive contribution to the win, scoring three tries by literally running through, round and over the Woodham defence time and time again. Rhys Hartley also bagged a brace of first half tries before being replaced by Charlie Thorogood at half-time. Ant O'Riordan made two other half-time changes, bringing Joe Flexman on for Will Brown and resting Liam Pickett in order to give Rory Miller another 1st XV opportunity and valuable game experience. The substitutions took 10 minutes or so to bed in, but once the new additions found their feet the tries came thick and fast and from all over the pitch. It is a busy time of the year and availability can be patchy for amateur rugby players so it is vital that we try to keep the whole squad match fit, available and ready to play if necessary.

Elsewhere in the London North 1, Chingford and Brentwood recorded comfortable wins, but Amersham and Chiltern dropped potential points after fighting out a 22-22 draw at Diss - our opponents this weekend. This result and our bonus point win means that we leapfrog Amersham and secured third place. We are exactly half way through the season and we have everything to play for. Results have demonstrated that no side is infallible and fortunes can change on the bounce of ball or the blast of a referee's whistle. January will be a crucial month and will go a long way to decide the league. We will face both Brentwood (13th January) and Chingford (20th January) in consecutive weeks and the results from these two games will have a massive impact upon the whole season.