Hitchin 'white shirts' stand strong in Saturday's freezing conditions
Hedgehogs brave the snow!
Despite the arctic conditions on Saturday the players from Hitchin RFC gamely strode out to complete outstanding league fixtures at King Georges playing Fields. With limited rugby being played across the area all sides appeared to have managed to cajole players of all standards to join in the fun. Hitchin Development XV played against a strong Finchley 2nd team, narrowly losing 20 - 5 in a game decided by defence rather than open flowing rugby. The only Hitchin points came from stand in skipper Ian Thomson who, following the interception of a loose pass, left the Finchley defenders in his wake as his ran in to score from his own half. Although too cold to comment after the match Thomson also sang the praises of his second row pairing of Max Stallard and Ed Bellamy, "The second row were brilliant today, I thought both Max and Ed were the stand out players both in defence and attack'.
On the pitch alongside the Hedgehogs played Datchworth 3rd XV in another tight fought encounter that relied more on defence than attack. Hitchins tries came from the sprightly Mark Turner at fly-half who dealt brilliantly all afternoon with the huge repertiore of passes that came from his scrum half Barry James. Two further tries came from a young looking Ashley Cockrane, making his return to the club after a long injury. Player of the match however was Glen Tamayo whose electric speed and brutal defence kept Datchworth on the back foot for most of the match.
With the games in full flowoutside it was left to the hard core of more senior volunteers to ensure that the club was ready and welcoming for the players return. This laborious task included ensuring that the beer was fresh and the fires were burning.
Team Thomas Tidey, Gary Ayres, George Elleston, Max Stallard, Edward Bellamy, Ian Thomson, Stefan Hughes-Brand, Adam Baird, Heinrich Schlehmeyer, Jack Peachey, Daniel Court, Adam Shaw, Andrew Turner, Kyle Hookway, James King
Scores T: Ian Thomson (1)
Player(s) of Match 1. Daniel Court
The league: Herts Mddx Merit Table