Bishop’s Stortford v Datchworth

Bishop’s Stortford B (10) 27 v. 31 (12) Datchworth

Sometimes you just have to grind the win out, and that is what we did today. The boys dug deep and absorbed a lot of pressure, but somehow were never able to exert control of the game.

A difficult game against a good Bishop’s Stortford side that never gave up. Somehow we managed to quickly get on the wrong side of the referee, which meant we never got the rub of the green come decision time. Never the less, the boys kept plugging away, and drove forward mightily with the ball in hand. Contesting the rucks is an art we will have to learn, e.g. when to commit players, when to back off.
By their own admission, the boys did not communicate well today, and they need to learn this art, e.g., tell each other when the scrum-half is at the bottom of a ruck, where the space is etc. Tackling again let us down, with too many boys going in too high, and not taking the opponents legs. Also, we have to make every chance count, and not leave points on the field. The backs did try some moves today, which tried to create the extra man, so they are beginning to think for themselves, which is a good sign.

Two tries apiece at half-time, with just a conversion separating the teams. In the second half, the Datchworth forwards began to dominate, and we built a healthy lead. But Bishop’s Stortford fought back and applied a lot of pressure, and used their backs advantage to the full. Fortunately, Datchworth kept the Stortford tries out on the wings, making their conversions difficult. This ultimately lead to the win, as we were able to convert 3 of our 5 tries, while Bishop’s Stortford were only able to convert one of their 5, although one attempt did rebound off the post.

The Captains challenge (bag of Scampi Fries) was a draw, but the Boat Race was an easy win for Datchworth.
Man of the Match was Ieuan, for two try saving tackles and the three conversions.
DOTD was William, for our first yellow card of the season.