Cheshunt Rugby

By Jim Stanger 

Sunday saw Cheshunt act as hosts for the re-scheduled League fixture against Hitchin RFC.

With no clouds in the sky the weather was sunny but very cold. Cheshunt kicked off the match and almost from the start applied pressure to Hitchin.

With only 5 minutes on the clock Cheshunt were awarded a penalty 15m out from the try line. Ryan stepped up to take the kick & give Cheshunt a 3-0 lead. Hitchin came straight back and within a couple of minutes were also awarded a penalty, which was successfully kicked to level the score at 3-3.

With the sun shinning and the luxury of actually having a sub for once, Cheshunt continued to play some great rugby. Through out the match Cheshunt’s pack continued to dominate Hitchin, winning almost every scrum.

With Daragh now getting used to his new position as Fly Half, he started to make some attacking plays and it was only a matter of time before he broke thru Hitchin’s defence and with support just encase he needed it he ran half the pitch to score Cheshunt’s 1st try of the day and his 1st try of the season.

From this point on Hitchin seemed to struggle somewhat against Cheshunt and were forced to sub a couple of injured players over. Not for the first time this season Cheshunt’s Captain (Connor) intercepted a Hitchin pass on Cheshunt’s 15m line to return the ball the full length of the pitch to score Cheshunt’s 2nd try of the day.

Cheshunt started to dominate the match and Cheshunt missed several chances to increase the lead before Connor scored his 2nd try of the day. With Ryan scoring 2 out of the 3 possible conversions, Cheshunt finished the match off with a 22-3 win.

Z, Aaron, Joe, Duncan, Antony, Robert, Reece, Jed, Connor ©, Daragh, Ryan, Jordan, Alex, Charlie, Cameron, Darius

Cheshunt Under 16’s acted as hosts to a Datchworh side on Sunday, in a friendly match.

Sadly with this being Remembrance Sunday Cheshunt were low on numbers and were forced to field just 14 players for the match. Which also meant some players would be playing in totally new positions.

Cheshunt played with total commitment but sadly as everyone knows playing 14 men to 15 is only going to end in one result.

To Cheshunt’s credit they never gave up and numerous times during the match saw C’s camped on Datchworth’s 5m line. Unfortunately having the extra man together with the option to rotate subs meant Datchworth were allowed to continue to apply pressure with fresh legs.

Some great power runs from Darius, Jordan, Reece & Ryan saw Cheshunt nearly score, however Datchworth managed to hold Cheshunt at bay. With Jed getting used to his position as No.8 saw him carry the ball on a few occasions.

Even as the score line continued to grow sadly against Cheshunt, their heads never once dropped and thru grit & determination Connor for the eight time this season broke through the opposition’s defence line to score.  Ryan calmly stepped up to the mark to successfully convert the try.

Line Up: Darius, Aaron, Joe, Duncan, Antony, Reece, Jed, Connor (C), Ryan, Jordan, Daragh, Alex, Charlie, Cameron

By Jim Stanger

Sunday saw Cheshunt U16′s travel to Enfield Ignations to play in a triangular fixture with Ottignies, a touring Belgian side. The match started with both teams in high spirits. With a number of Cheshunt’s backs away on holiday, Cheshunt were sadly forced into using forwards to cover the spaces.

With both teams evenly  matched it was never going to be an easy match. The opposition took an early lead via a penalty kick near the 22m line. This was followed up by a try, which meant Cheshunt were chasing 8 points. For the 3rd time this season Connor intercepted a wayward pass between the Belgium Centres and returned the ball back down the pitch to score between the posts. Ryan stepped up to make the score 7-8. Into the 2nd half and Cheshunt made a couple of substitutions. Both teams continued to play some great rugby and no further score looked possible until Connor broke down the wing and grubber kicked the ball which he chased down to score Cheshunt’s & is 2nd try of the day. Ryan once again stepped up to take the conversion and was very unlucky to just miss. (12-8) With only seconds to go The Belgium touring side broke thru Cheshunt’s defences to win h game 12-13.

After just a few minutes rest Cheshunt returned to the field to play against Enfield. Even though they were very tied Cheshunt once again took the fight to their opposition and once again both teams were evenly matched with some great rugby being played. Neither side gave an inch and any points would have to be earnt, not given away. Cheshunt continued to pile on the pressure with the “pack” collecting the ball on the 22m line. Some great power play saw Cheshunt slowly move Enfield back towards their own try line. With 5m to go Connor got the ball and broke across the line to score Cheshunt’s first points of the match and to give Connor his 3rd try of the day. Ryan once again stepped up & scored. Sadly with Enfield brining on 8 subs at half time Cheshunt with their tied legs were unable to deal with the fresh legs and the match finished (7-12)

The Under 16’s welcomed Brentwood to Cheshunt on Sunday.

The match was played in great weather conditions under a cloudless sky.  As this was a scheduled friendly it was decided to change a few players around, following on from the long term injury to Will (Full Back) and the sad news that unfortunately it had been decided that we would no longer be able to field the two Under 17’s in the squad this season.

So with a nervous Alex covering Scrum Half & Cameron playing Full Back, Cheshunt received the first kick off and from the start both teams looked evenly matched.

Alex needn’t of worried as he took to the position like a fish to water.  Whilst Cameron also showed a natural talent at Full Back.  Both teams attacked & defended very well, both being cautious not to give anything away.  However Brentwood took the initiative and scored the first try of the day to lead (0-5)

Almost immediately from the KO Brentwood piled on the pressure pinning Cheshunt back on their own 5m line. Brentwood looked like they were about to score again when Connor (playing in a revised Outside Centre position) intercepted a pass between the Brentwood backs and returned the ball the entire length of the pitch to score a great try.  Ryan stepped up to the mark to successfully convert for two more points, to give Cheshunt the lead at 7-5.

Just after the re-start unfortunately the referee was forced to withdraw from the match due to an injury.  With no other referee available the match seemed it would sadly have to be cancelled.  However Paul very kindly offered (blackmailed into) to referee the remainder of the match.

For whatever reason Cheshunt seemed to switch off at this moment and for the remainder of the first half & a majority of the second half, they played 2nd fiddle to Brentwood.  Only after Brentwood to put the game to bed did Cheshunt eventually wake up and start to play some good rugby.  Sadly by this time the damage had been done and Brentwood won the match 41-7.

Team Line up: Darius, Z, Aaron, Joe, Robert, Antony, Reece, Jed, Jordan, Connor, Ryan, Cameron, Josh, Alex, Charlie, Duncan, Daragh

The U16′s welcomed Hackney Bulls to Cheshunt RFC for the first league fixture of the season.  Sadly due to regulations they were unable to play the two over aged players in this fixture and with other players also missing the match, it meant that Cheshunt would not have any substitues to use during the game.

For the 3rd game of the season Cheshunt started off extremely strong and following on from a successful Thursday night’s training session, rucking was somewhat improved from the previous match.  For the first few scums Jordan (no.8) took the ball from the base of the scrum and made some very powerful runs that penetrated the Hackney defence.

Sadly once again, against the run of play Hackney broke through Cheshunt’s defence and scored a try just before half time.

Cheshunt came out in the 2nd half and continued to battle hard but Hackney managed to run in a 2nd try which was succesfully convetered to extend the lead to 0-12.  Deep into the 2nd half Cheshunt managed to pin their opponents back in their own 22 and following some aggressive play, Cheshunt saw Connor run in their one and only try of the match.  Hackney started to pile the pressure on and Will perfomed one of the hardest tackles of the match to help save conceding another potential try.  Sadly on getting back to his feet he discovered that he had in fact broken his collar bone.

In the dying seconds, with Cheshunt now fielding only 14 players, Hackney once again broke through and scored their 3rd try of the match, leaving the final score 5-17.

Team Line up: Z, Aaron, Joe, Robert, Antony, Reece, Jed, Jordan, Connor, Ryan, Cameron, Josh, Alex, Charlie, Will

By Jim Stanger

For the second week on the row Cheshunt U16’s started off strong, totally controlling the match on all parts of the field with the Backs running some great lines.  Sadly also for the 2nd week on the row a simple mistake allowed the opposition to win the ball and run in the first try of the match (0-7).

Cheshunt continued to control the match but Harlow’s pack started to dominate the scrum and more importantly in the rucks as well with Harlow continuing to clear the Cheshunt players off each ruck.

Unusually for Cheshunt they found themselves playing on a small junior pitch which started to create problems with finding space for the backs to run into.  As the match continued it started to become increasingly bad tempered with both sides becoming far more physical and sadly, with the referee missing a few knock-ons by Harlow, Cheshunt started to feel hard done by.

Late in the 2nd half tempers flared when initially Reece was caught on the wrong side of a ruck and unable to roll away, he received a boot to the head, quickly followed by Jordan being dump tackled.  By this time both sides had become hot tempered and it was decided to abandon the match with a few minutes still to run.

Team: Darius, Aaron, Joe, Duncan, Tom, Brandon, Antony, Jordan, Connor, Ryan, Reece, Cameron, Will, Alex, Charlie

With the new season upon us Cheshunt U16’s faced Stanford-le-Hope in their first match of the season.  The match was played at Cheshunt in bright conditions.  The team have trained hard over the summer especially with the introduction of “lifting in line-outs” and the Scrum Half being permitted to come past the tunnel at scrums.  So everyone was eager to see how all this training panned out.

As this was a friendly match both teams agreed on 3 x 20 min periods. Ryan Kicked Off the 1st session and from the start Cheshunt piled on the pressure.  Time & time again Cheshunt moved the ball between their forwards & backs, continually pinning Stanford in their own half, however Stanford defended well and managed to soak up all of the pressure that Cheshunt applied. When the 1st line out occurred there were cheers from the watching crowd as both sides saw their jumpers soar high into the air.

Cheshunt continued to pressurise Stanford but sadly to no avail.  Then in the last 30 seconds of play in the 1st period Charlie made a great run down the left wing only to be tackled on the 10m line.  Sadly without support the ball was ripped off him and Stanford managed to run the ball back down the pitch and score the 1st try of the match, a successful conversion giving them a 7 – 0 lead into the 1st break.

With the addition of a few players this season, it means that we are finally able to use substitutes more effectively.  The 2nd period started with Cheshunt still rattled by the conceded try.  However within 5 min they were back to their best pressuring Stanford in all parts of the field.  Sadly, still not managing to break down Stanford’s defence.  Then once again against the run of play, Cheshunt missed a couple of tackles and Stanford scored their 2nd try of the match.  A missed conversion putting the score at 0-12.

Cheshunt didn’t allow their heads to drop, didn’t panic and continued to play good quality rugby.  Eventually their patience was rewarded as Tom ran in Cheshunt’s 1st try of the season.  Ryan converted with a fantastic kick from the sideline to close the gap to 5 points.

Into the 3rd period with both teams started to looked tired.  Stanford resorted to kicking out of defence and Will carried out his full back position extremely well.  As the match drew to a close Cheshunt used their pack to walk Stanford deep into their own 22m.  Literally with the last play of the match, Connor took the ball from the base of a ruck 2m from the try line and passed to Will coming in at pace to score Cheshunt’s 2nd try. Ryan once again walked up to the mark to slot his 2nd conversion of the match and give Cheshunt a well deserved 14-12 win!

By Jim Stanger