Datchworth 26 - 16 Welwyn

It was a cold day in Datchworth and both teams went into the match knowing this fixture had always been dominated by Welwyn. In Datchworth's entire 1st XV history, they had never beaten their local rivals.

Datchworth knew a good start to the match was key if they had any chance of changing the history books. From the kick off Datch quickly turned over the ball and some excellent rucking from the forwards meant Scrum Half Grant Roe was able to deliver quick ball to the backs. This meant Datchworth were able to dominate the field position and some strong running in the Datchworth midfield by Rob Campbell-Davis and Henry Mountain meant the home side worked their way into their opponents 22. Looking like they were going to score a try, Welwyn cynically gave away a penalty that stopped play. Captain Matt Francis immediately elected to take the 3 points that were dually converted by Tom Wood.

The game restarted and once again Datchworth were dominating possession and field position. Strong running from the forwards and cutting lines by the backs meant Rob Cambell-davis was able to squeeze through a gap and score the first try of the game.

With the score at 10-0, Welwyn realised the game could quickly run away from them if they didn't do something about it. Welwyn started putting phases together using their strong carrying hooker and number 8. This lead to a period of Datchworth giving away penalty after penalty during which the visitors were able to notch up 9 points from the boot leaving the score 10-9 in Datchworth's favour.

With only a few minutes left of the half Datchworth knew going into the break with the lead was going to be important. Some great work at the base of the scrum by Stuart Young lead to a break up the left hand side of the field. Once again, felling the pressure, Welwyn gave away a penalty in their 22 which was knocked over by Tom Wood, leaving the score 13-9 at half time.

After the restart Welwyn pilled on the pressure and spent 10 minutes camped inside the Datchworth 22. However a resilient Datchworth defence meant they were able to hold off the Welwyn attack. However this spirited defence came at a cost with Rob Campbell-Davis being sin binned for not releasing the tackler. This meant it was going to be a tough 10 minutes for Datchworth however being down to 14 men seemed to rally them and quickly worked their way down to Welwyn's 22 and Tom Wood was able to put over a drop goal, making the score 16-9.

Welwyn put the restart deep into Datchworth's 22, giving Captain Francis and opportunity to run the ball back at the visitors. Breaking one tackle he offloaded the ball to Henry Mountain who beat the defender covering him and made a break from the half way line to score a converted try leaving the score at 23-9.

Even though Datchworth now had a healthy lead, Welwyn were not going to lie down and accept defeat. Once again, strong running in their forwards lead to a Welwyn scrum on the Datchworth 5 meter line. Welwyn had been the stronger side in the scrum all day and this showed meaning the referee had no choice but to award the visitors a penalty try, 23-16.

With not long left in the game neither team wanted to make a mistake that would let Datchworth run away with the game or give Welwyn a foot hold to make a comeback. Tom Wood converted another penalty meaning Welwyn would have to score twice, 26-16. The last 10 minutes were very much dominated by Welwyn with Datchworth not wanting to make any mistakes. This attitude naturally led to Datchworth making mistakes and giving away penalties. However, as it had all day, their defence held strong and at the final whistle Datchworth 1st XV had accomplished something that had never been done in the clubs history, they had defeated Welwyn 1st XV.

With such a historic win Datchworth now aim to finish above Welwyn in the league and go the rest of the season unbeaten!

Datchworth face Barnet away next week.