Bank of England 14- Datchworth 20

Once again Datchworth tried as hard as possible to make winning a game of rugby that little bit more difficult. A mixture of injury, poor availability and London traffic meant Datchworth took to the field with a side that had little resemblance to the one who beat Wasps last week. Although it allowed James Norton, Jamie ‘Pumbaa’ Smith and Andrew ‘Smudger’ Smith to step into the 1st XV fold for the first time this season.

Despite the disruption the villagers started well and were hitting good lines through the centres and the home side barely visiting the Datchworth half in the early exchanges. Bank were constantly dominated at both set pieces and gave the visitors a chance of picking up three points early on which was unsuccessful. Yet in true Datchworth fashion they were the first to concede. A distinctly average kick saw the ball bounce awkwardly in midfield and the aware Bank of England winger was first to react running in a simple converted try.

This however seemed to have become a habit to the men in green who have won 4 out of their last 5 games after conceding first! Following the restart Datchworth again dominated, pushing Bank deep into their own half and coming away with points. First from a well struck penalty from the personalised boot of Tom Wood and then an offloaded ball from Andrew Smith allowed Matthew Francis to bosh through a rather shoddy back row to score Datchworth’s opening try. Wood again came up with the goods and left the away side going into the break with a 10-7 lead.

As the second half began the game soon opened up. Ian Reid had finally battled his way through the traffic of London and soon did the same to the Bank back line. A strong line break left him one on one with the opposing fullback and a clinical draw and pass allowed Frankie to scamper in under the posts Wood again converted.. Quality scrummaging from Skinner, Muhr and Hickey allowed Datchworth quality ball for both the back row and the centres. Good delivery from Will Mitchell standing in at 10 and strong running from wingers Henry Mountain and James Watt consistently provided opportunities for Datchworth. Despite another penalty from Wood, the away side made far too many unforced errors in possible scoring opportunities.

In the latter stages these mistakes proved costly as a rather inexcusable knock on provided Bank with territory and an extended period of pressure. This eventually resulted in Bank’s 12 cantering to the line with no more than a cheeky stroke by 3 Datchworth defenders. This converted try soon changed the feeling of the match and provided a nervy closing stage for the visitors.

A last roll of the dice by the Bank of England fly half dribbled into touch and Datchworth made it 6 wins on the bounce with a local cup derby against Welwyn to look forward to next weekend.

By Chris Marchant