Cheshunt 3 XV 19 - Hitchin 3 XV 26

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Another week when the 3rd and 4th teams got together to produce another excellent result. After being informed that Cheshunt were within an hour of cancelling the fixture due to shortage of players we were a bit disconcerted to get down there and see somewhere near 30 players warming up ! Another bit of bad communication meant that we rushed down there for a 2pm kick off and then had to hang around in the freezing cold for half an hour as the other side had been told 2-30pm (and the ref thought it should have been 2-15pm). So we were glad to get started and what a start it was as we ripped into the opposition and were rewarded with a fine try by Simeon Green who was driven over the line by Rob Pankhurst after just 10 minutes. The 3 under seventeens who played deserve a special mention as each one of them made a major contribution to the win and also seemed to be having a bloody good time as well. Andrew Malczyk making his senior debut at Scrum Half scored a cracking individual try and was a telling presence all around the pitch throughout. Lewis Jones was drafted into the back row after an injury to Gus caused a reorganization of the Forwards and he was immediately into the thick of things with some excellent tackling and link play. Steve Merritt has played in the seniors before and is definitely one for the future at Hitchin as he has a mesmerizing change of direction and lots of gas to spare when in open space. The lineout worked well with Rob Pankhurst and Dave Turner snaffling a couple of the opposition throws and being totally consistent on our own .As this game was a double header with the result counting in the league and the cup it was vital we didn’t go to uncontested scrums as we would have to concede the game so Dave Turners decision to replace Gus at loose head after only the minimum of experience in that position was brave especially as the Cheshunt pack was large ,experienced and powerful. We did however nick a couple of balls against the head and never allowed their greater weight and strength to dominate us which was a major factor in the winning of this game .Two of our tries were scored by driving over the line using the support of the pack and were scored by Simon Goodlad and Barry James. With a few minutes to go we had let Cheshunt back in after leading for the whole game with the score at 19 all and it was at this moment that one of Hitchin's golden oldies (sorry Barry) decided to roll off the back of a driving maul 5 yards out and assisted by the hooker (another golden oldie) he scored the winning try which was converted by the ever dependable David King. This was another gutsy win by the 3rds 4ths combination with everyone playing their part and getting their just desserts in the end! Some people had to play out of position and I would like to thank Gary Wearing for going in the second row on a day when we were really up against it in the scrum and doing a sterling job. I am afraid to report that the changing room banter took a turn for the worse this week with Mike Wilkins returning from baby producing duties and regaling us with the details of his sperm sample methods which I can only compare to a sketch on the radio from Tony Hancock! Could you put the team list on the end of this please Chris?

Man of the match Dave turner
Squad: M Skeels, G Hawtin, G King, S Goodlad, G Wearing, R Pankhurst, D Turner, D King, A Malczyk, B James, S Merritt, G White, S Green. K Lok, M Wilkins. L Jones, J Poddubilk