Datchworth prove a point

Rearranged due to The Beast from the East, both sides were almost at full strength for a rare opportunity to play under floodlights.

Despite the rush hour traffic and the lack of a compass (or in fact any sense of direction for a select few) the villagers managed to start the stronger of the two sides; perhaps due to the short and sharp warm up. Mark Holgate made the first yards with a strong carry, before a strong scrum from greens set a platform for a Dylan Rice break in the centres. Grasshoppers stopped both attacks with big hits, no quarter given. The forwards pushed on and made space out wide, Sam Brunton creating a hole in the defence. He found Rice again who beat the covering defence and scored in the corner. Tom Wood added the extras with a well-struck effort from the touchline to give Datchworth a shock lead inside 2 minutes.

Moments later there were more celebrations; Brunton again instrumental with some great distribution. Alex Nolan's dummy run drew the defence for Brunton to find full back Tom Bennett. Bennett in turn set winger James Watt off on a piercing run and he outpaced the defence for the score, looping back round almost under the posts. Wood converted again for a 14-0 lead.

In the early exchanges, Grasshoppers looked to test the water with kicks over the top; Bennett countering well and making more space for Watt. A knock on saved the home side's blushes and they cleared their lines. Grasshoppers looked threatening with ball in hand, but so far the visitors had made that a rare occurrence with the back row trio of Marcus Potter, John Simons and Stuart Young making first-up hits in midfield.

A quick turnover gave the home side their first opportunity, and with space out wide they attacked the wing. A simple 2-on-1 made good yards and if not for Rice making up ground for the cover tackle it would have been a guaranteed score. Grasshoppers were making life difficult in the lineouts, and more turnover ball gave them a room for a set play in the backs; spoiled by greens with a penalty kick the result. Knocking it over was a formality for Gilmore, the home side on the scoresheet. 3-14.

Grasshoppers continued firing high balls over the Datchworth defence, but the trio of Wood-Bennett-Brunton worked well at the back; allowing the visitors to retain territory with no-pressure precision kicks to touch. With Holgate and Young making good yards and linking with the backs, Datchworth still boasted the lion's share of possession.

Play moved to another pitch as a Grasshoppers man was given medical attention, and the home side began playing some great attacking rugby despite a much narrower channel. Datchworth didn't see much of the ball for the remainder of the half, except for a Tom Bennett chip and go - a photo-finish between him and the defender as they dived on the loose ball in goal, grounded by the home side.

Grasshoppers continued to attack and despite resolute defence the greens were giving away penalties, costing them valuable territory as the home side camped out in their half. Datchworth drove back a Grasshoppers scrum for a huge turnover but again a penalty put pay to any chance of clearing their lines. With the defence drawn left, the home side made good use of the space and finally broke through the middle and scored under the posts. The conversion closed the gap for a 10-14 halftime score.

Back on the original pitch, skipper Nick Gudgin picked up a knock early in the second half and the greens sent on Sam Thornton who made an immediate impact with ball in hand. Watt picked up his second of the match; Sam Brunton's miss-pass finding Nolan, who gave a training-field pass to his winger. With plenty still to do, Watt ran it in from 30m. Wood's effort was just wide, but the visitors had increased their lead to 10-19.

Straight from the restart, Grasshoppers were playing a more direct game - and with more intensity. As Datchworth cleared their lines the crowd were treated to a superb individual effort from the right winger. Starting from the halfway line, he evaded Bennett's effort to press him towards touch before dancing back inside through three more tackles to score. The kick was short but Grasshoppers were back in the fight; 15-19.

Datchworth made three changes; Gudgin replacing Richard Hollis in the front row, soon followed by Jake Ebhodaghe and Nick Holland giving a rest for Marcus Potter and Dan Blackwell.

The visiting spectators went wild for another Dylan Rice break, a good thirty yards gained with Young in support. The offload was good but just before Datchworth strung together a third phase, with numbers wide, the loose ball was knocked forward. Relief from Grasshoppers as they continued to gain momentum.

Grasshoppers' hard work soon paid off. Having given Brunton time on the ball all evening, they finally pressured him into a clearance off the wrong boot, which fell short of touch and bounced in favour of the right winger. With most of the green pack still picking themselves off of the floor, Grasshoppers' used the extra numbers to score out wide and take the lead for the first time albeit by a single point - with around 15 minutes to play.

Datchworth settled down and concentrated on possession and territory, which had served them well in the first half. It wasn't long before they reaped the rewards; Jack McDonald making a break on the right hand side, with Bennett taking the ball through the gap and opening up acres of space. Nolan took the pass on his shoulder and with Wood waiting unopposed in the middle of the park, Datchworth ran in another try. Adjudged to have been tackled high, the referee gave a penalty try and a yellow for the defender as Wood grounded the ball under the posts - making the conversion irrelevant and giving the visitors a 6-point lead.

As Grasshoppers chased the game, a final break from Stuart Young opened more space and quick-thinking Bennett poached his 10th of the season as he followed up in support and finished from 15m.

The clock ticked down and Wood pummeled the ball into touch; Datchworth the victors in a tremendous game of rugby.

Two wins in a row for the greens, against high flying opposition, has given them 9 more points than perhaps you'd budget for - a massive boost in the battle against relegation. Datchworth face a tough test away to Kilburn Cosmos next week, but can take comfort that their survival prospects are now truly in their own hands.