Woodford Under-15s drew a pulsating encounter 12-12 in the first of two matches away at Hackney Bulls on Sunday.

Woodford took on Hackney Under-15s first before a second game against their opponents' Under16’s.

The visitors started off well and showed attacking intent with a kick to the Bulls' try line. Alex Marks was unlucky not to get the ball down.

It didn’t take long for Woodford to open the scoring. The first try of the game came with only three minutes gone as Will Carey found Dan Farrelly on the right and Farrelly powered through for an unconverted try.

Woodford were dominating proceedings and had Hackney camped in their own half. It took one penalty decision on the Woodford 22 to change the game with a quick break on the right resulting in an equalising try. 

With the subsequent kick falling short, the score stood at 5-5 after nine minutes.

With two games to play in the day Woodford rotated their players to keep them fresh. The away side kept up the pressure though and Fay made the effort count driving over in the right hand corner. 

With a challenging kick, Batt did well to convert. Woodford led 12-5 after 22 minutes. 

The second half was a tight encounter but Hackney gathered momentum and put pressure on the Woodford backline.

A minute was left on the clock when the Bulls made a break on the left evading Woodford challenges as they eventually touched the ball down between the posts. 

With the last kick of the game they converted for a 12-12 draw.

Woodford would have been pleased with their performance and in the second match against the Bulls Under-16s, they drew again - this time 10-10.

It was going to be a tough ask for Woodford as they took to the field for the second time in the day but they got off to the perfect start as they raced into a 5-0 lead. 

Will Curness found Jed West for the first attacking move of the game and he did well to hold the ball up, before releasing to Tom Mead.

A short pass to Alex Marks was moved along the line to Matt Bastick who linked up well with Anthony Hamilton to rampage over the line for a Woodford try after just 2 minutes.

Unconverted, Woodford stunned their opponents, going into an early 5-0 lead.

And things got even better for the visitors, Mead and Fay were again in the thick of the action, before West out-muscled the Bulls defence, and found Marks on the left who skipped past his pursuers to increase the lead, unconverted, to 10-0 after six minutes.

It took the hosts 11 minutes to get on the score sheet; the gradual swing in play finally saw Bulls burst through the Woodford defence on the right for a try between the posts.

With the conversion missing the mark, Woodford’s lead was reduced to 10-5 after 11 minutes.

And with 20 minutes gone on the clock the scores were levelled.

The pressure was being soaked up well but following an unlucky scrum decision 10 yards out from the Woodford line, Hackney finally found the gap they had been seeking with a break on the left, getting the ball down for an equalising try.