Epping U13 faced South Woodham Ferrers in the quarter-final of the Essex waterfall cup on Sunday 16 January - our first match of 2022, and with the boys taking part in competitive scrums for the first time.

We, unfortunately, had to concede home advantage due to the state of the Epping pitches, however, we nevertheless started strongly and quickly went 0-10 up following some strong rucking, running and offloading.

SWF grew into the game - rucking and tackling well, however, Epping were playing with increasing confidence and were 0-20 up at halftime.

While we conceded a well-worked try by SWF just after halftime, we picked up where we left off in the second half - dotting down another 4 tries and ultimately running out 5-40 winners.

It was a terrific performance in the winter sun, with all boys making important contributions across the park and everyone playing their heart out for the team. Credit to a good SWF side, who were competitive throughout and terrific hosts.