Royston Match Report

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At last the rain & snow stopped and we played some rugby !!! We hosted Royston on Sunday it what was an enjoyable morning. Both teams had two sides, so our Panthers played their A team and our Jaguars played their B team. We played a total of 6 matches during the morning; won 2, drew 3 and lost only once against a good Royston team, which was an excellent achievement especially as we had a few players away and we also fielded some of our younger U6 players.

Hitchin Panthers v Royston A: Drew 7-7

Royston started the game well and took an early 0-2 lead in the first few minutes as the Panthers took a little while to settle into the match. Once settled though the Panthers hit back with two tries, the first for Ethan B following a good run and pass by Rory and the second was a fine individual score by Naomh. Royston responded with another score, but the Panthers were starting to gain the ascendancy and good defending and tagging in particular by Connor, Alex and Ciaran prevented any further scores. We created some good turnover ball and from this we created two tries of our own. The first was a close range score from Alex and the second was an excellent team score from our own half as Sam, Rory and Connor combined to put Ethan B in the clear to score. This excellent period of play meant we went in at half time 4-3 ahead. The second half was again close with both teams playing some very good rugby. Royston scored two quick tries at the start of the half to regain the lead, but Ethan B scored an excellent individual try to level things again. There then was a period of play where each team scored two tries. Firstly Ethan B scored in the corner following good passing and support play by Chris & Holly and then Ciaran rounded off a good team move after a fine run by Sam. Both teams tried to grab the final winning score, but in the end the match was deservedly drawn.

Hitchin Panthers v Royston A: Drew 8-8

The second game was again a very close match. I was with the Jaguars at this stage but on speaking to Rob, Tom and Helen this was a match we could and may be should have won. We played some excellent rugby in the first half and created a 5-3 lead at half time following tries from Connor, Ethan B (2), Naomh and Ciaran. The second half Royston came back strongly and in the end we needed a try from Ethan B with the last move of the match to secure a draw. Naomh and Chris scored the other tries in the second half.

Hitchin Panthers v Royston A: Lost 7-9

The final Panthers game of the morning was another excellent game between two well-matched sides. The Panthers started strongly when Ethan B scored an excellent individual try from the first move of the match and then he scored a second following a good run and pass by Connor. Royston responded with two tries of their own, but then Rory finished off a fine team score after good passing and support play by Alex & Ciaran to put us back in the lead. This did not last long as again Royston came back and this time scored two quick tries, but just before half time Alex crossed to make things 4-4 at the break. In the second half we started to run out of steam and we gave Royston a couple of easy scores early in the half as tiredness set in and we unfortunately missed a few tags. However, two scores by Ethan B and Ciaran following some excellent running and passing by Sam & Connor brought us back into the game and we went into the final period of the match all square. Royston scored two further scores to lead again but a fine try from Chris after some good support play by Rory & Ethan B reduced the deficit, but it was not to be as Royston scored again late on to secure the match.

Hitchin Jaguars v Royston B: Drew 3-3

The Jaguars started the morning slowly, but that was understandable as they had five players playing their first competitive matches. I was with the Panthers at this stage but Jez who was running the team was really pleased with how the team improved during the morning and got better each game. This particular match ended level, with our tries being scored by George, Laurence and Daniel. There was also good passing and support play by Euan & Kai and some fine tagging by Sam and Cameron in the second half.

Hitchin Jaguars v Royston B: Won 8-5

In the second game the Jaguars played really well and there were some fine performances by both the experienced and less experienced players. The Jaguars started strongly when Laurence scored an excellent individual try from the first play of the match. Royston responded with a try of their own, but then we scored two further scores to increase our lead. First good passing and support play by Henry & Kai created space for Laurence to score and then from the next move of the match Royston knocked the ball on, Laurence picked up the lose ball and ran it back to score again. Royston got a score back just before the break so we went into half time leading 3-2. The second half continued as the first when Laurence remarkably scored two further tries early in the half. The first was from an excellent run after a good pass by Alfie and the second was a good team score when a fine passing and support play by Euan & Henry allowed Laurence to score in the corner. Royston pulled a score back to make it 5-3, but two scores by Daniel sealed the match. Harry L. almost scored the first himself when he made an excellent run from our own half, but he was tagged just before the line, however Daniel was on hand to finish off the score. Daniel’s second try was a fine individual score as he used his pace to out run the defence. Royston tried to get back into the game but there was some good defence and tagging in particular by Sam & George. Royston did grab two late tries, but we got another try when Euan scored a very good individual try to round the game off.

Hitchin Jaguars v Royston B: Won 6-5

The Jaguars finished off the morning with another good performance and it was good to hear that the younger players were getting more involved in the matches. In this game there was some good running and passing by Alexander & Cameron and some good tagging by Corgan & Harry L. There was also some fine support play by Henry, Kai and George. We scored six good tries through Laurence, Alfie, Daniel, George (2) and Euan and ran out deserved winners.

Tries: Alfie, Alex (2), Chris (2), Ciaran (3), Connor, Daniel (4), Ethan B (10), Euan (2), George (3), Laurence (7), Naomh (3) and Rory.

Overall a really good morning and I was pleased with both teams performances, especially as we had not played for a few weeks. The Panthers played three close matches against a very good Royston side; I think we just ran out of steam in the last game. The Jaguars had an excellent morning especially as they had five players playing their first games and four of these were from our U6 age group. I was really pleased with how the younger players performed, but it was also good to see some of our less experienced U7 players performing well and it is great to see the improvement all the players have made.

‘Player of the Week’ this week went to Laurence Hidle. It was a very tough choice as there were so many players who played well. There were some very good performances in the Panthers team, especially Ethan B and Ciaran and I was also impressed with some of the younger U6 players for the Jaguars, but I decided on Laurence as his performance stood out for me. His all round performance for the Jaguars in particular in the second game was excellent. Not only did he score five tries in one game, but he supported well when attacking and also did some excellent tagging in defence. I was also very pleased with his attitude and effort throughout the morning; he was concentrating and putting in 100% even in the warm up, which was great to see. Well done Laurence, I want to see you perform like that every week.