County Festival Report & Team News 20th April

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We took two teams to the Herts County Festival this Sunday and had a very long, tiring but enjoyable morning. Competing against the best teams in the county was always going to be tough, but both teams performed well and the players did themselves proud.

Hitchin Panthers v Tring Won 6-3

The Panthers started the tournament really well and played some excellent rugby in beating the host team. Tring had already played a game and I was concerned this may have given them an advantage, but I did not need to worry. Confidence was high in the team and this was evident when Ethan won the toss and decided Tring could have the ball first, very generous of him and I think it confused the ref as he had to check with me to make sure that was correct. This decision was vindicated as we stopped them scoring with the first move of the match and then went down the other end to score ourselves and set the tone for the game. Our attacking play was excellent and we scored some fine tries through Ethan B, Ciaran (3) and Connor (2), but I was most impressed with our defence and there was some excellent tagging by all players. In total Tring had the ball seven times during the game and we only let them score only three times, which was a great effort. A good start to the morning.

Hitchin Panthers v Welwyn Won 6-4

After a small break we played our second game against Welwyn and continued where we left off in the first game. Again we defended well, but in this game it was our attacking play, which was evident. We played some fine attacking rugby with ball in hand and there was some very good running, passing and support play. We controlled the first half and led 3-1 at the break with tries by Ciaran, Connor & Rory. The second half was much closer, but three tries early in the half by Ethan B (2) and Connor sealed the match, before a couple of late scores by Welwyn reduced the deficit. After the game the Welwyn coach, the ref (the Letchworth coach) and the Tournament Pitch Marshall all commented on how well we had played and on how good some of our players were, which was a testament to how well we were playing. Two down, two to go.

Hitchin Panthers v Letchworth Lost 5-6

This was a very different game to the first two, in that although there was some very good rugby played by both teams it was a rather physical match as the bigger Letchworth players made their presence felt and won a close game. Throughout the game there were a lot of collisions between the players, which the ref let go and we ended up switching players throughout as injuries occurred (which was strange as we were supposed to be playing TAG rugby). I think a bit of tiredness also set in as we played our third game in quick succession and we struggled to break down a good Letchworth defence. Nonetheless it was a good performance against the eventual winners of the festival and if we had had a little bit of luck the result might have been in our favour. There was never more than one score in it, we scored three tries in the first half through Ethan B (2) & Connor and then a further two in the second half by Ethan B & Guy, but in the end Letchworth got the final score to grab the vital win.

Hitchin Panthers v Chess Valley Won 5-2

After the Letchworth game we presumed we were out, the team were a bit deflated and a number of players were nursing their battered bodies, but the result of the next match changed the mood. Tring had beaten Welwyn, which meant we were still in with a chance of qualifying if we beat Chess Valley. To the players credit, they responded to this news and put in another very good performance, especially as some players looked “out on their feet” after the Letchworth game. We were always in control of the game, attacking well with some excellent team play, creating some good tries and also defending and tagging well. We led 3-0 at half time through scores by Ethan B, Ciaran & Connor and it looked like we would run away with it, but give credit to Chess Valley, they controlled a lot of the ball in the second half and although we scored two further tries by Ethan B & Connor, we spent most of the half defending. However, it was another convincing win to add to the earlier two.

After the group stages the Panthers were tied with Tring & Letchworth on 16 points, so the organisers had to do some quick calculating to see which team progressed to the semi finals. It came down to the team who scored the most tries, so when they announced Letchworth had qualified, we all presumed they had scored more tries, but in fact we had both scored 22 tries each. Therefore the organisers had to go to the next criteria , the result of the game between Hitchin & Letchworth, which unfortunately we narrowly lost 5-6. To be knocked out this way was disappointing news, especially considering how well we had played, but worse news was to come. There I was enjoying a quiet beer afterwards and who did I see crowned as County Champions – Letchworth.

Hitchin Jaguars v Fullerians Lost 5-6

The Jaguars first match was a very close game, with both teams playing some good rugby. There was never more than one score in this game as the play moved from one end to the other. At half time the scores were level at 2-2, with our tries coming from Daniel and George. The second half was much the same, we crossed for a further three scores when Daniel, Dylan & George ran in good tries, but in the end we just ran out of time and lost narrowly. Like the Panthers, the Jaguars did not have much luck as I understand George had a try ruled out with the last play of the game, which on many occasions may have been given!

Hitchin Jaguars v Old Albanians Lost 1-7

We always knew the second game against OA’s was going to be tough and that was the case, although I am pleased to hear that the players gave their all and did not let their heads drop. I did see some of this game and in fact we did have a lot of the ball in the first half, but OA’s defend very well as a team and we could just not break them down. When they had the ball, they attacked well and although we did some good tagging they supported very well and created some very good scores. We did get a fine score in the second half by Ethan L. and went close on a number of other occasions but in the end we struggled to contain this very good side.

Hitchin Jaguars v Hemel Hempstead Won 6-1

The Jaguars last match was an excellent performance and was well deserved. They had to play this game immediately after the OA’s match and I was really pleased to hear that they finished the morning strongly. The first half was very close and at half time the score was 1-1 with our score coming from Chris. However, the second half was very different with the Jaguars blitzing Hemel and running out easy winners. There was some very good defence and tagging by the whole team to stop Hemel scoring and we created five good tries ourselves through Harry, Daniel (3) and George. This was a great way to end the tournament and it showed the spirit in the team.

Tries: Chris, Ciaran (5), Connor (7), Daniel (5), Dylan, Ethan B (8), Ethan L, George (3), Guy, Harry and Rory

Looking back on the morning I am extremely proud of how the teams performed and I could not have asked for anymore from the players. They all gave 100% and did themselves proud. The Jaguars competed in a tough group and put in two very good performances in their first and last games and the Panthers came within one try of qualifying for the semi-finals and you never know what might have happened after that. To miss out by this margin to the eventual winners is disappointing, but it was a great effort and gives us plenty of hope for the future. A big well done to all the players.

We gave out two ‘Player of the Week’ awards this week, one for the Panthers and one for the Jaguars. Both decisions were tough as there were a number of good performances in both teams. However the awards went to Ciaran Sale for the Panthers and George Lanyon for the Jaguars. Ciaran had an excellent morning and performed really well in all the games. His running with the ball was very good and he scored a number of fine tries, he also defended well and pulled off some great last-ditch tags to prevent certain tires. Ciaran has only joined us recently but he has settled in well and is a great addition to our squad. George had a similar impact for the Jaguars as he played in all their games and was heavily involved throughout the morning. He scored some very good tries, supported really well in attack and made some fine tags. George’s performances over the last month have been excellent and I am really pleased with the significant improvement he has made over this period.

Sunday 20th April

This week we have our own U7’s mini festival at the club. We have enough players for six teams, so we will set up three pitches and each team will play five matches during the morning. I have selected the teams and these will be announced on Sunday morning.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not be playing on our usual pitches, we will be playing down the far end near the football pitch (where we held the mini festival before Christmas). I would like to start the matches on Sunday promptly at 10.30am, so can I please ask for players to meet at 10.15am.