Cup win at Stowmarket

The villagers made amends for last week’s drubbing at the hands of Stevenage with a comprehensive win away to Stowmarket, in the second round of the RFU Senior Vase.

Both sides were greeted with a guard of honour from Stowmarket’s juniors, and with Datchworth to kick off, their warm-up nerves soon dissipated; the return kick collected well by debutant winger Keith Carmichael, who rounded the defender and made a 35m dash towards the try line. Stowmarket knocked on as they attempted to turn the ball over and Datchworth were on the attack once more following the first scrum. The sides exchanged early blows midfield, but with Dylan Rice and Alex Nolan reunited as Datchworth’s centre pairing the greens had the lion’s share of possession. With four minutes on the clock fly-half Richard Mills had slotted their first points from a penalty, much to the delight of the 30 travelling supporters.

Keen to play some expansive rugby Datchworth had energy and determination but missed out on a couple of try-scoring opportunities as they looked to exert their authority on the game.

Mills added another three points on the ten-minute mark but the next twenty minutes were spent with both sides sharing possession and trying to crack the other’s defence – Nolan, Rice and man-of-the-match Billy Gatfield putting in some big hits around the park. Stowmarket scored the first try, against the run of play with a well-worked move out wide – breaking the line on the second phase. From the restart Stowmarket were awarded a penalty just inside Datchworth’s half but the kick was wide – the greens retaining their 6-5 lead.

Datchworth increased the lead from some good pressure play – Sam McBroom with a 20m carry well recycled and out to Carmichael for another run – held up around 20 yards from the line. McBroom carried again before a charge from Mark Holgate spread the defence. Sam Brunton, in at scrum half, got quick ball to Mills with the intention of using a 3 man overlap. As Stowmarket spread to cover, Mills quickly cut inside his man and ran in under the posts. He converted his own for a 13-5 lead.

Stowmarket upped the intensity of the match and Datchworth took until half time to adjust – plenty of penalties were awarded to the home side but all out of range for the kicker.

Datchworth started the second half as eager as the first – and were soon rewarded with another try. Mills made an interception in his own half, before outsprinting the covering defender to go over again, under the posts. Another conversion took his, and Datchworth’s, tally to 20 points with Stowmarket trailing behind.

Stowmarket’s back row were starting to make inroads with some good carries, but Gatfield was determined to make his presence known with a big hit on the home side’s number eight who had been carrying well.
Three phases later skipper Nick Gudgin followed up with another powerful hit, eight again the recipient.

The home side were next on the scoresheet however with a quick break from the scrum half. He beat three tackles to score in the corner and close the gap to 10 points.
Datchworth were holding on as Stowmarket had found another gear, but were still applying pressure with possession and kicks for territory.
A clearance kick found its way down full-back Tom Bennett’s throat just outside the 22, and he attempted to emulate his childhood hero Jason Robinson. He rounded the first man on the outside, stepping inside to beat the second. The third man was beaten again on the outside as he went over for the try and a huge cheer from the away crowd who had had a fantastic afternoon with brilliant hospitality from the hosts. Mills was again on target, this time from the touchline as Datchworth took a 27-10 lead.

A good all-round performance from the greens who next week host Kilburn Cosmos – both sides looking to climb back up the league table after recent defeats in a league where it seems as far as results are concerned, this season, anything goes!
Datchworth can now also look forward to round three of the Senior Vase on 20th January – the draw will be announced this week.