Saracens Amateurs 15 Hitchin 15
Hitchins opening game of the season finished with Sarries scraping a draw with the final kick of the match. In a rather poignant match that started with a minutes silence for the young Hitchin player Wes Botha, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago, a highly entertaining match saw both sides were determined to open their seasons account with a good win. Sarries, despite winning their league last season, were not allowed promotion due to an unfortunate administrative error and so still play a league below Hitchin. Hitchin however have not beaten Sarries for the past 3 years.
The early part of the first half was dominated by the penalty count with Hitchin often caught infringing around the breakdown area and the Sarries 10 had no issue with scoring 2 early penalties to give them a 6 - 0 lead. As Hitchin began to find their rhythm they slowly began to take more and more control of the game. The new additions to the side certainly proved their worth. Jim Panter in at no.8 orchestrated much of the good forward off-load game whilst Lewis Skittrall, in the back line, delivered a stream of deft passes to put the his team mates into space.
On 30 minutes with Hitchin pressuring the Sarries line a series of fast breakdowns allowed the ball to be moved along the line. Skittrall, ball in hand, found himself with in space and with the slightest of side steps split the Sarries defence to open Hitchins account. WIth Jack Peachey beginning to find last season kicking boots the conversion was scored and Hitchin moved into a well deserved half time lead of 7 - 6.
As the second half started the lineouts were becoming dominated by a jumping partnership of Ryan Arbon and Simon Banner, who both then worked tirelessly around the breakdown area. Unfortunately slack play again allowed Sarries back into the game and two further penalties saw them wipe out an earlier penalty from Peachey and give them a 12 - 10 lead.
With 5 minutes of the game remaining the efforts of skipper Graham King and vice-Captain Willie Corrigan, who both spent the afternoon leading from the front, were rewarded. A series of short, fast rucks left the Sarries defence running out of numbers and it was King who finally crashed over for the score. As the clock ran down and Hitchin lead 15 - 12 but there was time for one final push from the Sarries team. With seconds left on the clock a lineout on the Hitchin 22m line, followed by a breakdown in midfield saw Hitchin caught offside and from in front of the posts Sarries were never going to miss. As the ball went over the bar the final whistle blew to signal the end of the match and a 15 - 15 draw.
Team Dave Archer, William Corrigan, Richard Stidolph, Philip Hobbs, Ryan Arbon, Simon Banner, Graham King, Jim Panter, Robert Gostellow, Jack Peachey, James Larman, Dale Baines, Lewis Skittrall, Jamie Reed, Chris Betts
Subs Richard Dowson-Park, Karl Brooks, Patrick Hurst
Scores T: Graham King (1), Lewis Skittrall (1)
C: Jack Peachey (1)
P: Jack Peachey (1)