Woodford Under-14s went down to Stevenage Town 37-31 in a thrilling friendly clash on Armistice Day, with both sides observing a minute’s silence beforehand.

After a bright start from Woodford, Henry Sharland scored the opening try with Alex Marks completing the conversion.

Stevenage quickly got five points back when their back row broke through the Woodford defence.

Woodford’s reply was emphatic as Toby Harrison and Euan Fay combined in the second row with the former posting five more points on the board.

The hosts extended their lead to 12 points when Taylor Wilkins scored from close-range after Jed West was halted just short of the line.

Trailing 17-5, Stevenage changed tact and it was their straight running approach which saw them score twice in quick succession to tie the game up at 17 apiece before half-time.

The momentum remained with the visitors who capitalised on a scrum conceded by Woodford shortly after half-time, the back row combining well to take Stevenage into the lead for the first time in the game.

Stevenage buckled under the pressure of their lead however, with West kicking on to score under the posts before Marks converted, handing the lead back to the hosts.

Woodford then stretched their advantage to nine points when Anthony Hamilton scored after making progress down the left flank. Marks added the extras.

However, Stevenage would not be beaten, and two scores later they edged in front by a point before the last play of the game yielded the match-winning points to hand the visitors a six-point victory.