Datchworth bounce back at Finchley

With a disappointing defeat two weeks ago Datchworth were in better spirits on Saturday - with the hope of another away win against struggling Finchley, who had been on the wrong side of some close matches.

A few changes in personnel saw Ed Cockburn return to the side, albeit on the wing in place of Louis Watts, and Hugo Dawson make his fourth appearance in the back row. Straight from the kick off Datchworth's number eight, Stuart Young, had a rumble and the pack started working upfield. Having not settled, the ball was lost in the resulting scrum and the visitors soon found themselves defending a penalty 10m from their line - conceding the first points as the number eight went blind and put the winger in the corner.

Datchworth worked upfield once more, with carries from both forwards and backs. With pressure on Finchley, penalty advantage was awarded. Winger James Watt swaggered into the pocket and with, unbelievably, no other options available was given the ball for an ambitious (at best) attempt at a drop goal. Play was brought back for the penalty and Wood slotted it over.

The lead changed hands minutes later, two good carries from Dan Blackwell set a platform and a penalty at the breakdown gave Datchworth a lineout within striking distance. Following a drive towards the line and two phases later, Brunton spotted space on the far touchline and chipped the ball into goal - Watt winning the race to touch down for an 8-5 lead.

Finchley upped the tempo with ball in hand, but were always struggling to break the line. Datchworth rumbled on and earned themselves another penalty chance, this time Wood slicing it to the right of the posts. The return kick fell fortunately and gave them another chance to attack, Brunton sending Stu Young through the middle taking three defenders with him, to offload to brother James for a good finish. Wood made up for the penalty with a well struck conversion and the visitors had a 10 point lead at the break.

Datchworth started the second half much stronger than the first and were soon looking for another try. Brunton's deft kick over the defence bounced perfectly for Cockburn to make yards down the right. Bennett in support took the pass back inside. With the defence split and Datchworth in a great position Finchley won a penalty at the breakdown and cleared to touch. The greens made a couple of changes; Geoff Clapp replacing Cockburn on the wing while Greg Emms made way for Jamie Smith in the pack.

Finchley continued to spoil well at the breakdown and the third try was a long time coming. James Young took another crash ball through the centre but Liam Walker's powerful run from the second phase brought the points; the prop spreading himself well to score with an outstretched arm. Wood converted for a 22-5 lead.

Searching for the bonus point but eager to experiment the greens reshuffled the back line for the last 15; Brunton had a breather with Wood moving to his preferred berth at fly half, and Cockburn back off the bench taking the number nine shirt.

The bonus came in the final ten minutes, a huge drive was enough to turnover a defensive Finchley scrum; Young prematurely went for the line but a good platform nonetheless helped quick ball go wide, with Nolan looping round in the corner. Finchley stole and cleared, but the greens were straight back with possession. Another slippery run from Walker presented Hugo Dawson with a chance - a quick pick and go saw the back row crash over and finish one-handed. Wood was unlucky from the spot, and the game petered out for a 27-5 away win.

A solid performance despite some key changes to the squad has put Datchworth joint fourth in the table; a single point short of second place and only eight points behind top side London Welsh. With a blank weekend coming up, the focus is fully on hosting Old Merchant Taylors' on 1st December - with both clubs level on 30 points.