Herts Presidents' Trophy final

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Hemel Hempstead 21 Hitchin 6

Hitchin battled hard before their cup final hopes disappeared in the second half against higher league Hemel.

Hemel's supporters turned out in force for what was supposed to be a walk in the park.
No one told the Hedgehogs though and the first half saw both sides go toe to toe. Hemel, entrenched in the Hitchin 22 for 10 minutes, suddenly found themselves at the opposite end after a quick break from Mike Jones. Moving the ball wide, Jones found a gap and shot through to be brought down on Hemel's 22. Hitchin applied the pressure and were awarded a penalty for Hemel going over the top. Kicking from a small snowman, Simon Beadel put Hitchin in front.

Play continued with Hemel dominating the scrums and gaining the majority of the possession.
However the Hitchin defence was impressive, especially Vinnie Kevans, Malcolm Frasier and Sean McGinnity. Unfortunately the continued barrage from Hemel finally saw their winger break through a tackle and score under the posts.

The effort both sides were putting in began to show as play became punctuated with injuries. Hitchin forced their way into the Hemel 22 and after several efforts to cross the line, they were awarded another penalty for going over the top. Beadel again slotted the ball over to bring Hitchin to within a point at half time.

The second 40 minutes continued with some good fast, hard rugby that had been showcased by both sides in the first half. Veteran Doug Brooker and young gun Nick Panton were soaring in the lineout. The back row of Stewart Roberts, Jo Bennuci and Chris Davies were aggressive in defence and the front row of Richard Stidolph, Aiden Barnett and McGinnity were causing Hemel problems at the breakdown.

Unfortunately Hemel's scrum continued to assert its dominance, and from a scrum five metres out, Hemel got the drive on and walked it over the line. The successful conversion put them 14-6 ahead. Hitchin's response saw man of the match Jones put Chris Martin in space to break down the wing but he was just caught by his opposite man.

The forwards worked well in the loose and provided quick ball to Hitchin backs. James Larman was found in space and as he dived for the corner was just taken into touch first. Hemel then made their way into the Hitchin half, and a well-constructed maul drove them into the Hitchin 22 but solid defence kept them out.

The game was once again taking its toll with both sides making substitutions. Robert Vivian replaced the injured Beadel at fly-half and the fresh legs of Richard Dowson Park, James Drury and Joff Lord also came on.

The closing minutes of the game saw Hitchin defending again and again. But the heroic defence finally slipped up and allowed Hemel to cross the line with the successful conversion completing the scoring.

Hitchin have their final league game against Kilburn Cosmos this Saturday.