U11s at County Festival, Hertford - 19 Apr 08

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A respectable outcome for the day coming second in the Cup group stage (a first for this team since tag) and thus qualifying for the Bowl competition. Sadly we went no further: our would be rivals-in-chief of this season scored a convincing win in the semi with over-eagerness on our part coupled with some bad luck contributing.

The day began with a huge boost for the squad by seeing Simon moving fairly freely and able to play, which given the trauma he had suffered the previous week (and the drugs he had been laced with) was a remarkable recovery. His presence was doubly useful since we had lost the services of James Wotherspoon, but it still looked likely we would be light on wing-backs as Simon was not certain to last the day (though he was going to give it his best effort!).

The weather was unusually inclement with that sort of cold biting wind that after standing around for a few hours seeps into the marrow of your bones. Worse than that, although the body warmed up eventually by the evening, the muscle tension created by the cold could still be felt the following day - and that was just the spectators!

The first match against Tabard began with shock and awe. In contrast to the rest of the season when we have been so slow starting, we gave one of the most fired-up and dominant displays of the season in the opening half of the day. Tabard were trapped in their half as our forwards were rampant, led by Ellis who was all over them in a brief spell with crunching tackle after tackle. How we failed to score in that half we shall never know but somehow Tabard kept us out twice by just holding up the ball (from runs by Rui then Ellis) and once with a very close forward pass from Ruiri to release Simon down the wing and touch down.

Things were looking exceptionally good for us but Tabard came back strongly in the second half and it was our turn at one point to hold them up just inside the try line. Ruiri put in a big tackle and Dom and Beth combined effectively to avert disaster when Beth held up the forward sufficiently for Dom to put in the excellent clearing tackle. It was unbelievably tense as a loss would have been grossly unjust given our overall possession and territory. So we settled for a try-less draw.

The second match against Hemel Hempstead began brightly enough and for two-thirds of the game we were well on top putting in two good tries. And there might have been more only we struggled to get secured ball out sufficiently quickly. But once again we seemed to let our foot off the pedal and let them back in to equalise. However one moment of sheer brilliance put us decisively ahead for a well-deserved win.

The first try came from Simon who superbly held on to James' pass out, which was perfectly timed as Hemel came up and Simon was away down the line. The second was a forward pack's try as they drove up the field with a couple of rucks and mauls until Peter popped up around the corner to touch down. The third was a stunner: a straightforward touch over after Dom had converted defence into attack with a big kick and run, putting the Hemel defender under enough pressure to spill the ball and set us up for the final push with Calum using his strength to push over.
(No conversions were taken as per the tournament rules.)

For the third match against Bishop's Stortford, the group's top seeds, we were prepared for a siege, however the barricades were stormed on a regular basis. Unfortunately by this stage Simon was no longer in a fit condition to play and took no further part in the day and this had knock-on effects elsewhere.

What was most remarkable about Bish was the speed at which they moved the ball and the sure handling and passing. More than that, they seemed to have a certainty about them that came out of a knowledge and understanding of the game. They demonstrated all sorts of moves - dinking kicks over the backs, grubber kicks, and missing out backs with long passes - and regularly created the all important overlap on the wing as they drew our centres out of position. Still the team maintained their work rate and didn't avoid the tackles though when we did secure the ball Bish were also very fast moving up, leading to hesitation and nervousness in our passing. It was a remarkable and inspiring performance by Bish.

In the end we lost to Bishop's Stortford by the same margin as the other two teams in the group had. It was a no score draw between Tabard and Hemel Hempstead - further demonstration of how close all of these teams are now in the County beyond the big seeds - and so we got through to the Bowl competition for second in group

It seemed almost fated that we would play Datchworth for the third occasion this season and clearly both teams were fired up. Consequently we were left almost stunned by what we saw in first half as Datchworth ran in three tries. And yet we never felt truly overwhelmed and we demonstrated this self-confidence was not misplaced in the second half when we played a level pegging game: neither side truly got the upper hand but the damage had been done.

The match began inauspiciously from the kick-off when a knock-on was ignored and while we on the sidelines fumed the ball was run in. Even the second also had a hint of controversy as the referee seemed to play the longest, repeated 5 second release on record (according to an independent witness), but it was the third that must have convinced us it was not to be our day. From deep in their territory the ball was kicked out where it landed in front of Tim, who let it go over him preparing to take the second bounce and instead got one of those cruel, wicked (wouldn't happen 99 times in a 100) bounces that sent it straight back over his head and into the arms of a Datchworth back to run the two-thirds of a pitch and in. This was especially cruel on Tim who had had a very good day with typically safe hands and running into spaces.

Certainly Datchworth played the more coherent rugby in that first half and we seemed to be like rabbits trapped in headlights, though the second was very much the close tussle we had anticipated. We have developed a respectful regard for, and rivalry with, Datchworth and so perhaps we had almost wanted the win too much, but a missed ball here and a lucky bounce there can be the events that can colour not only a match or a festival but even a season.

On reflection we can be justifiably proud of what we achieved at the County festival: we ended up in the top eight of the county and when you consider our dreadful run-in to the festival (missing so many key matches plus Simon's injury) and that four or five of those eight would be considered the 'big' teams, overall that is a highly creditable achievement.

County Cup - group stage
Match 42. v. Tabard Drawn 0-0
Joe, Will, Ellis, Lewis, Jamie, Harry, Dominic, James D, Ruiri, Simon, Beth, Tim

Match 43 v. Hemel Hempstead Won 15-10 (5-0)
Peter, Will, Ellis, Lewis, Jamie, Harry, Dom, James, Rui, Simon, Calum, Tim
Tries: Simon, Peter, Calum
(No conversions were taken as per the tournament rules.)

Match 44 v. Bishop's Stortford Lost 0-30 (HT 0-15)
Brandon, Will, Ellis, Lewis, Guy, Harry, Dom, James, Rui, Calum, Beth, Tim

County Bowl (2nd in group competition) - semi-final
Match 45. v. Datchworth Lost 0-15 (HT 0-15)
Joe, Will, Ellis, Lewis, Guy, Harry, Dom, Calum, Rui, Beth, James, Tim