Disappointing Loss for 1st XV away to Grasshoppers

A solid first half performance but Cheshunt 1st XV shut out by Grasshoppers.

Despite a fantastic first half, Cheshunt were shut down in the last quarter of a very physical game against the home side Grasshoppers, narrowly missing out on a four try bonus point.
Both sides started strong with Cheshunt piling on the pressure from the outset, with the home side defending hard on their own 5meter line within a few minutes of kick off. A handful of breaches at the breakdown followed by a held up try attempt, gave Cheshunt a scrum opportunity within the first 10 minutes of the game.
The dominant Cheshunt scrum went for the pushover try with three attempts, each time the defending pack being penalised by the ref for scrum infringements. Disappointed with the results Cheshunt went for a back play from the fourth scrum but the ball was fumbled from an offside 7 closing down scrum half Lewis Daymon.
Play continued in Grasshoppers 22 until a huge run from prop Dave Angel broke the line being brought down just in front of the line, being picked up and taken the rest of the way by JB for the first points of the game, an unfortunate missed conversion attempt from out wide hitting the uprights.
Grasshoppers then came back strong and determined, playing a wide quick game and attacking hard on the wings, countering with their own un-converted try in the corner equalling the score.
Both teams put out a solid performance across the pitch for the rest of the half, looking equally matched across the field. It took a well-executed back play from Tom Claridge and Bobby Bolton with some hard forward crashed to open up the defence for Jono Wicks to slip through and score Cheshunt’s second un-converted try in the far corner, however leaving Cheshunt a man down with Josh Willcocks suffering an ankle injury for his efforts.
Again Grasshoppers came back determined from conceding points and played wide and fast, scoring an equalising try on the outside shortly before the end of half leaving the halftime score 10-10.
The second half was a different story altogether with Grasshoppers comfortably playing with most of the possession and Cheshunt slowly being worn down defending the fast wide play.
Now trailing in the scores, Cheshunt pushed for a counter attacked and though back with a strong offensive working the ball up the middle of the field right to the opposition line. With penalty advantage and another held up try the scrum was the call of choice, props Jake Philips and Ryan Hussey powered through from the front for JB to score the walkover try.
Sadly this was to be last points for Cheshunt as the rest of the game was closed out in their own 22s defending a barrage of offensive attacks, compounded with further injuries in the Green and Whites team, Grasshoppers ran through successive try’s to close out the game 40-15.
Although disappointed by the result, the weakened Cheshunt side missing a few key players this week, will pick themselves up and push forward. With a full squad and week of preparation they look forward to hosting local rivals Stevenage at the Rosedale next Saturday.