DRFC v Hillingdon Abbotts

Datchworth 43 (33) v. 10 (5) Hillingdon Abbotts
Poor conditions did not help. but being brutally honest, and maybe this is a mark of how far the boys have progressed, this was not a good performance from Datchworth. Somehow I and the coaches felt that the boys made hard work of today's win. I know the conditions did not help, and I accept that we are being harsh, but somehow, I managed to come away from today a tad deflated.
Hillingdon came with 13 players, and we agreed to go drop flankers for this match. Datchworth scored with their first move of the game, and continued to pile on the pressure throughout the first half. Sadly a Hillingdon boy received a, hopefully, mild concussion, so a few Datchworth players decided that it was better to play than stand on the touchline, so we began to lend Hillingdon some players.
By half time Datchworth were 33 -5 up. Given the conditions, handling was difficult, and our pack took total control. However, a few forwards seemed to get whiteline fever from too far out. Too many times Datchworth wasted opportunities by throwing the ball away, rather than making a pass or resetting the ball.
In the second half, some of our forwards appeared to think that rucking was an optional extra, as Hillingdon upped the pressure and restricted us to two tries.
I know this sounds a tad grumpy, but it can be a bit frustrating when we know the boys can play so much better than they did today. I accept that we were disrupted by the fact that we leant the opposition players, who wall gave 100% effort for Hilingdon, and some boys were tried out in new positions, but somehow I feel we could have played so much better. Still a win is a win, and all the boys, especially those that volunteered to play for Hillingdon, put in a tremendous effort, in very unhelpful conditions.
Thankyou to Michael Percy for the new after match kit for the boys. they did look super smart. I will just say now, that there will be serious fines for those that do not have their kit on match days!!
MoM was Harry Philips, for overall effort on the day.
DoD was George Hawes for crossing the try line and then trying to make a pass to one of his mates so they could score a try, which resulted in turnover ball!! Enough said!
It is a mark of how well we are progressing that some how a win of this magnitude seems like an anti-climax.
The boys did really well today, in horrible conditions, and should be really proud of their efforts. There is still a long way to go before we are the finished article, but we are making great strides every week!!.