Datchworth Match Report

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This Sunday we played at Datchworth in a triangular fixture with Welwyn, and competed as a club for the Charles Morris Memorial Trophy. Unsure of the exact set up for the morning, we still took two teams and hoped we would have enough rugby for all the players. We were not disappointed as Datchworth proved to be excellent hosts and with Welwyn also entering into the spirit of things we managed to play a total of six matches during the morning. There were two main matches that counted towards the Trophy and we had another four training matches. We decided to mix the teams up this week and I was very impressed with the performances by the teams as we won all the games and came away with a 100% record.

Hitchin Panthers v Welwyn: Won 9-4
Team: Connor, Guy, Rory, Alex, Milly, Henry, Ethan L, Ben & Joshua

The Panthers played against a well organised Welwyn team first up and had to work hard right from the start. We opened the scoring from the first move of the game when Ethan L made an excellent individual run to score in the corner. Welwyn responded almost immediately to level the scores, but we then scored two well worked tries to open up a lead. First Guy scored following a good run and pass by Henry and then Rory scored a fine individual try. Welwyn hit back again with two tries of their own and we had to defend well to stop them scoring more with some good tagging by Milly and Connor. Alex then crossed for a well deserved try, but Welwyn grabbed a try just on half time to make the score 4-4 at the break. The second half though was a different story with the Panthers playing some excellent all round rugby. They defended really well and stopped Welwyn scoring, with some fine tagging by Ben, Joshua, Rory and Connor. We also attacked well and created five very good tries. Connor got the first following an excellent pass by Ethan L and then Guy crossed for his second try to extend our lead. Welwyn then had a period of play where they nearly scored but some last ditch defending kept them out. We then sealed the match with three further tries. Connor crossed for two further scores, the first a good individual run and the second being an excellent team try from our own half with some great passing and support play by Alex and Rory. Rory then finished off an excellent match with a fine score in the corner following good running and support play by Ethan L and Guy.

Hitchin Jaguars v Datchworth: Won 9-6
Team: Ethan B, Sam, Naomh, Holly, George, Dylan, Daniel, Jamie & Frank

It was then the Jaguars turn as they played Datchworth in the second main game and they also put in a very good performance. Again the first half was even with both teams playing some good rugby. The Jaguars started well when Sam scored an excellent individual try and this lead was doubled, when Dylan finished off a good team move with good passing and support play by Daniel and Holly. Datchworth responded well with two tries of their own, but Sam scored another very good try using his pace to run the length of the field after a good pass by Ethan B. There then was a period of play where both teams created chances but just could not finish, with some good last ditch defending by both teams, in particular George, Dylan and Naomh for us. Datchworth did grab a score to level things, but then Ethan B scored an excellent individual try to put us back in the lead again. However, on the stroke of half time Datchworth scored to level things again at 4-4. The second half started well when we scored two quick tries, the first by Ethan B following some good running and passing by Holly and Daniel and the second was another good individual score by Sam. Datchworth responded well with another score but we sealed the match when we created a further two scores. Firstly Jamie and Sam created space for Ethan B to score in the corner and then Naomh crossed following a good run from Daniel. Datchworth tried to get back in the game but good defending kept them out with some fine tagging by Frank, Sam and Ethan B. Datchworth did grab a late score but we finished the match strongly and Naomh scored her second try following a good pass from Sam.

Tries: Alex, Connor (3), Dylan, Ethan B (3), Ethan L, Guy (2), Naomh (2), Rory (2) and Sam (3)

Training Matches:

During the morning we arranged a number of training matches. Whilst our Panthers were playing Welwyn in their main game the Jaguars had a training match against a combination of the A & B teams from Datchworth. Whilst our Jaguars were playing Datchworth in their main game the Panthers had another match against Welwyn.

Hitchin Jaguars v Datchworth: Won 6-2
Unfortunately I did not get the try scorers in this game

Hitchin Panthers v Welwyn: Won 7-5
Tries – Connor (3), Ethan L & Rory (3)

As we came to the end of the morning Welwyn left and we arranged two further games against Datchworth. For these games were reverted back to our normal teams with the Panthers playing Datchworth A and the Jaguars playing Datchworth B.

Hitchin Panthers v Datchworth A: Won 7-2
Tries – Alex (2), Connor (2), Ethan B, Guy & Sam

Hitchin Jaguars v Datchworth B: Won 5-3
Tries – Ben, Daniel (2), Ethan L & George

Another very good week as we put in some excellent performances and played some fine rugby. It was a slight risk mixing the teams up for the main fixtures, but we won both games quite comfortably in the end and this shows that we are now starting to develop a good overall squad of players. I was pleased with the contribution of some of the less experienced players during the morning and they are starting to get more involved in games, which is great to see. However I must say that performance of some of the experienced players really stood out for me this week. As we had mixed the teams up it was important that the experienced players really put in a performance and they did just that. Well done to all the players, a great morning and some excellent results.

A big thank you to Brian and Rob for running the teams for me this week. It was actually good to watch the games from the touchline for a change, as you see things differently from being on the pitch. I was also able to watch both teams this week and therefore see all the players during the morning, which was great.

The ‘Player of the Week’ award went to Joshua Clark this week for his all round effort and enthusiasm during the morning. Joshua is one of our less experienced players but he always gives 100% and he performed really well this week. I was particularly impressed with his tagging and his pushing forward in defence and it is clear to see the improvement he has made through the season. He also had the chance to play with the experienced Panthers team at the end of the morning and I think he really enjoyed that. Well done Joshua – keep up the good work.

Regards

Andy Dudley
Hitchin U7's Coach
07803 160382