Hitchin Ladies 0 - Hertford Ladies 10 (friendly)

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Improvement continues even if the result went against us

Hitchin 0 - Hertford 10 (friendly)

This time last year Hertford won this fixture 75-0 and were one league above us, this year they are two so how would the ladies rise to the challenge?

As the teams arrived the Hitchin coach was put in mind of the Disney cartoon where a football team of rhinos and hippos physically dominated the good guys - by golly they breed them big in Hertford! Hitchin started the game playing 13 players against 14 and with about a 2 stone per player weight disadvantage. Were they daunted?? Not a bit of it. In the first attack a prop tried to burst through but was felled by Amanda our smallest player taking her off at the knees - to be fair she would have needed a step ladder to put in a higher tackle. This set the pattern for an afternoon of relentless tackling, ferocious rucking and mauling with every single player punching well above their weight. Initially pushed back, the scrum re-grouped, knuckled down and held their own. In the loose, the backs were up so fast and furiously on the opposition that Hertford barely managed to string two passes together without knocking on under pressure with Sarah and Mihi particularly putting in big hits with Mihi adding excellent clearance kicks to her repertoire in only her second full contact game. At rucks and mauls Steph was everywhere blocking every path. Every forward put in a massive effort for the team and will feel the strain of holding a heavy pack for a few days I am sure. Hertford did manage to rumble over for one scrappy try in the first half and another late on as the extra player and general tiredness at a hard hitting afternoon set in but for the rest of the game Hitchin stood toe to toe with Hertford and held their own.

Perhaps the greatest mark of Hitchin's progress was the Hertford coach's fury at his team's inability to dominate us and their error strewn performance brought on by our pressure. Even more as the coach was the fact that all the Hitchin players felt they could have made improvements to their game to play even better. Hard work in training is being reproduced in improvement on the pitch and the whole team feel confident to get better and better.

Overall Player of the week: Steph; Forward of the week: Sally; Back of the week: Sarah and Mihi.

As usual, there were some amusing moments:
"Oh no, I've got a simultaneous front and back wedgie!"
"I have just been studded in a place I never want to be studded again...." (I did not dare ask)

Next week: Tabard away in the league.

Tim Bonnett
07860 538823