Hemel Match Report

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Well, I hope you have all dried out! What a morning, the wind, the rain, the muddy pitches, but two excellent performances by the Panthers and Jaguars. Hemel visited this Sunday with the hope of bringing two teams but unfortunately they only had enough players for the one side. Therefore each team had a game against Hemel and we then had a small training game after Hemel had left before the novelty of the rain ran off!!!

Hitchin Panthers v Hemel: Won 6-5

The Panthers started the game well with Ethan B scoring an excellent individual try right from the kick off, which set the tone for the day. This was quickly followed by a good team try for Naomh, with good support and passing by Connor and Holly and a fine individual score by Chris, showing excellent running and dodging skills. Hemel fought back well with two good tries and we had to defend well to stop any further scores, with some good tagging by Guy. Then just before half time Ethan B scored another good try from an excellent pass from Rory so we went in at half time 4-2 ahead. The second half was a much closer affair and in fact we had to defend really well, with Hemel playing some excellent rugby. An early try by Connor extended our lead, but then Hemel hit back with three good tries to tie the game at 5-5. There then was a period of play where both teams created opportunities but just could not get that crucial score. There was some fine running by Ethan B, Daniel and Naomh and some good passing and support play by Rory and Guy. Then as time was running out we created the decisive score for Ethan B, following a good run from Connor and an excellent pass by Holly.

Hitchin Jaguars v Hemel: Won 7-5

The Jaguars played some really good attacking rugby in the first half creating a 4-1 lead by half time. There was an excellent individual try by Millie to get things started followed by a very good team try from Harry created by some fine passing and support play by Henry and Ben. Hemel responded well and got a score back and there was some good tagging in defence by Euan and Sam, which prevented further scores. There was then an excellent passage of play just before the break where the Panthers scored two good team tries. Following some fine running and support play by Henry and Alex, Harry scored his second try and then Millie crossed for another score after an excellent pass by Sam. Like the first game the second half was a lot closer and Hemel had most of the ball. Alex scored a good try early in the half following a fine pass by George, but then we were forced to defend for a sustained period. Hemel got a couple of tries back but the game was sealed with two excellent breakaway tries by Sam. The first was a great individual run virtually the whole length of the field following an excellent pick up and the second was a fine team score after a Hemel mistake with some good passing and support play Gregory and Millie. These two scores rounded off a fine all round performance by the Jaguars.

Hitchin Panthers v Hitchin Jaguars: Jaguars Won 3-2

We had a short training game to finish the morning, which the Jaguars just won 3-2. Both teams played well, especially considering the conditions and I was pleased with the skill levels of the players. The Jaguars scores came from three good individual scores from Millie and Harry (2) and the Panthers scores came from Connor (2) a good individual score and an excellent team score following fine running and support play by Chris and Guy. By this time the rain had ‘taken its toll’ and we decided enough was enough !!!

Tries: Ethan B (3), Connor (3), Sam (2), Chris, Millie (3), Naomh, Harry (4) and Alex

The weather was awful, but the performance by both teams was excellent. We had two fine wins against a good Hemel team and I was really impressed with the players skill levels considering the conditions. We made very few mistakes during both the games and were quick to capitalise on any errors made by Hemel. I was particularly pleased with the Jaguars this week and it was good to see how some of the new players have developed. They now have a better understanding of playing matches and are contributing more during the games. Well done to all the players and lets try and continue the progress next week.

Congratulations goes to Daniel Hill and Gregory Oram-Brown who played their first game for us and I hope you enjoyed yourselves, even considering the rain.

‘Player of the Week’ was a tough decision this week as there were a number of good performances. I was particularly impressed with two of our new players Chris Holes and Harry Hughes who had good games, but this week the award went to Millie Reece Jones. Millie did well a few weeks ago at Ampthill and again this week she played really well. She contributed heavily to the excellent Jaguar performances both in attack and defence. She scored three excellent tries during the two matches, with some good direct running and also made some crucial tags in the second half of the match against Hemel. Millie was with us last year, but it is great to see how she has improved and developed over the first few months of this season.

This week – Sunday 9th December we have two away fixtures at Stockwod Park and Leighton Buzzard. Please note there will be no training at the club. Our final training session before the Christmas break will be Sunday 16th December.

See you all on Sunday.

Regards

Andy Dudley
Hitchin U7’s Coach
07803 160382