Villages couldn’t hold out at home

The game kicked off with Datchworth heading downhill and with the wind on the backs. They seemed ready for the match ahead and their tails were definitely up with the home side dominating possession and territory in the first quarter.

With the prospect of a second half uphill and into the wind, Datchworth needed to get enough points on the board in order to establish a platform to work from in the second half.

The villagers opened the scoring when winger Joe Richardson received a timely ball from full back Tom Bennett, who had already committed two defenders, to run 20 yards in and slide down in the corner – not before handing off his opposite number in the process. Stand in captain, Sam Brunton, judged the wind correctly and impressively slotted the ball between the posts from the touchline to add another 2 points.

Datchworth continued to add pressure and scored another try when Bennett ran an acute angle from deep to cut through Hitchin’s defence and managed to evade a number of last ditch tackles to get as close to the posts as possible. Brunton placed the ball on the tee and with a very short run-up confidently struck again to produce a total of 14 points.

The boys in green were heading in the right direction but with the wind being such an advantage they weren’t really making full use of it. As well as this the referee started to punish the villages at the breakdown and award penalties in kickable territory. The visitors were staying on the referee’s good side and before half time approached had slotted two penalties. This further frustrated the home side and the truth is they didn’t take full advantage of the elements. As a result the halftime score was 14-6 and whether or not this was a big enough lead was debatable.

The second half was a real battle and with the home side’s poor tackling and lack of urgency around the park, the visitors were being allowed to establish themselves in the game and were starting the score for fun with effective running from the back three. With wave after wave of attack Datchworth’s defence finally folded and Hitchen raced over to score their first try of the game… which was followed by a successful conversion

Datchworth rallied and there were glimpses of great rugby from the villagers - no more so than the moment which resulted in them scoring their third and final try of the game. This was very much a forward’s try and came about when returning prop Allan Leggetter saw a gap in their rival’s defence and pounced. His turn of pace was electric and left four of the Hitchin boys wrong footed and embarrassed. When he was finally brought down he maintained his composure and had the ingenuity to release the ball one handed and blind-sighted to flanker Dave ‘I’ll play with a black eye’ Bartlett. Brunton was unable to slot over the subsequent conversion but the villagers and their supporters were now buoyant and expecting further scores.

Unfortunately they would remain disappointed as Hitchin showed great resolve and although their forwards were tiring (even reverting to uncontested scrums) their backs were constantly knocking on the Datchworth’s door.

Eventually some fast running and weak tackling resulted in Hitchin scoring a try with merely minutes remaining and with a successful conversion took the lead for the first time in the match.

In the minutes left Datchworth were trying to keep ball in hand and power through the middle of the park. They were gaining ground but an eventual knock-on saw the game draw to a close.

Datchworth were clearly disappointed after the game but they must learn from the missed tackles and lack of urgency whilst still remembering everything which worked on the day – most notably set pieces in the scrum and lineout.

A mention here should go to debutant Adam Linton who started his first Datchworth 1st XV match as openside flanker. He was one of the most dynamic forwards on the field and proved to be a tough competitor in the tight. A true prospect for the future.

Datchworth look forward to amending this defeat with a trip to Cheshunt next week.