Hitchin Colts 37 V Barnet Colts 7

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Mr. Frisch’s quote “At last, they played as a team!”
Today was Pyjama Day, as opposed to Yellow Day last week and Pink Day the week before.

Everybody had apparently made an effort although it was difficult to tell whether the Colts were actually ‘dressed up’ – it seemed like normal gear for them – night shirts, night caps, dressing gowns, pyjamas….. however, there was a good deal of hilarity which put them in a very amiable mood for the match.
We were all very impressed by Barnet’s pre-match squeeze in which they counted up to 10. Quote of the side lines was “Well that’s north London education for you!” I’ve yet to ascertain whether our lads can actually count ….. The game started with a steady flow of movement round the pitch, giving the impression that the sides were evenly matched. This was followed by some excellent forward play enabling Tom the Tank, with some superb support from Nuts, to make a drive for the line and score. H5 – B0. Some good rugby play followed with a couple of brilliant tackles from Will (you could hear the thud) and Dominic (flying through the air) and play by Barry. Barnet continued to press their attack and an excellent break and run enabled them to score. H5 – B7.
Mr. Bush was late with the water!
Play continued with some outstanding runs by Paul, Jesse and Stewart, some solid support play from Nuts, good kicking by Barry, Peter Frisch bouncing off and through the opposition and a superb pick up by Jesse (excellent hands). JP pinching their ball in the lineout, set up an excellent driving maul that enabled Tom the Tank to score his second try. H10 – B7.
At this point it was decided that Will and Dominic were twins with their long flowing locks and identical gear (it’s amazing what conversations take place while waiting for conversion kicks). The families are currently in dispute … and Sam Rushbrook was seen muttering to himself as he crossed the pitch – we’re still not sure whether this was part of the team’s improved communication or due to a knock on the head.
Barnet began a fight back with some aggressive play but some good play by Andrew as hooker (it runs in the family), Tom the Tank and an excellent kick out of trouble from Barry meant that Hitchin’s defence stood firm.
I love you Ken Crowe (his attention to the game never wavered and meant he could fill in the gaps when my attention wandered!) xx
Communication on the pitch (thank you Sam the Man) was greatly improved and really helped give the impression that our Colts were a team to be reckoned with. Communication off the pitch was good too - thank you Grandad for your inspirational comments or was it just common sense? Good to hear a voice bellowing across the pitch giving advice and encouragement to our lads (even if Chairman Tim remembers it as 1984 first/second team speak). More brilliant play by the Colts, excellent lineout work from JP and Dominic, good kicking from Peter and Barry, good solid play from Rob, a ground gaining run by Paul, some vastly improved passing by all, showed that the Colts were really playing as a team for the first time this season. Barnet kept pressing for the line but Hitchin’s defence was solid and some good kicking, quick hands along the line, led to a good team try – well done Pat and Dominic! H15 – B7.
The second half saw much of the same with some good kicking from Barry keeping us out of trouble, Peter was still bouncing off the opposition, a brilliant tackle from Jesse – at this point there seemed to be a trail of Barnet bodies around the pitch - and a cracking run from Stewart leading to a well-deserved try for Nuts. H20 – B7.
The Colts’ confidence was growing by the minute and more good defence, brilliant tackles from the team in general and some excellent support play led to another fabulous try. H25 - B7. Well done Jesse.
All credit to Barnet they kept on playing and made some excellent runs on the wings but Hitchin’s defence stood firm. A brilliant double tackle by Woody and some excellent pressing play led to JP scoring a well-deserved try. H30 – B7.
Finally some more good defence work kept our Colts out of trouble and finished with an excellent take by Sam the Man, a super pass to James Coughlan who made a flying run down the pitch to score under the posts, soundly converted by Daniel. H37 – B7.
Good to see Sam Underwood back, well played! and well done Ben too!
Brilliant lads! A really good game to watch, you looked as though you were all enjoying yourselves and a much deserved win. Why? Well, you definitely played as a team today.
Man of the match: Nuts – James Bolter – he was everywhere!
To finish, our Man of the Match won the drinking contest too – think that’s every contest so far!