HACKNEY RFC - V - DATCHWORTH RFC - 12th MARCH 2022

Datchworth travelled to Hackney last Saturday with high hopes of ending their losing streak with a win against a team they had already beaten once this season. However, Hackney proved in a very competitive first half that they had other ideas.

A lively first half hour saw Hackney leading 8-7 by virtue of a try and a penalty to a well-taken try by young wing James Wilson, converted by fly-half Tom Bennett. In the 35th minute, Wilson received a pass on the half-way line with no space to speak of. He ran a couple of yards before kicking the ball to the try-line with pinpoint precision and outpacing the opposition cover to pounce on the ball for a brilliant try in the right-hand corner – 8-12 to the men in green. Unfortunately, some sloppy play in the Datchworth 22 led to an opportunistic score for Hackney who went into the half-time break grateful to be 15-12 up.

In the second half, Hackney upped their intensity and work-rate considerably. This effort and a number of inconsistent refereeing decisions combined to dishearten Datchworth who let their heads drop. They conceded two tries in the space of a minute, the second of these a combination of Hackney pace and disorganised defensive alignment by Datchworth with a couple of missed tackles. To their credit, Datchworth rallied after 25 minutes with an excellent try by captain James Watt, converted by Bennett. At 27-19 with 15 minutes to go, the men in green had hopes of a comeback victory but Hackney shut that door firmly with two more tries against a flagging Datchworth to run out deserved winners by a margin of 35 points to 19.

Once again, it was a game where Datchworth had several good moments but a lack of concentration at crucial times and the occasional defensive lapse let them down. The line-out and scrum functioned reasonably well but Hackney were much more aggressive at the breakdown and their lines of running were more inventive. They also coped with the refereeing decisions better. Datchworth now have a week off before a tough home game against Fullerians when they will need to be at their best.

Jeremy Gillham

Head of Senior Section

Datchworth RFC