Cuffley 3 Cheshunt 57

Herts Presidents Trophy
Round 1
Cuffley 3 Cheshunt 57

Cheshunt easily progressed into the next round of the Presidents trophy with a convincing second half display against a spirited Cuffley team, who offered little in the way of enterprise but competed well at the set piece. The home side saw an early long range penalty opportunity sail wide and debutant James Lennon immediately countered, Cheshunt stormed into the Cuffley half, Scott Drew and Joel Bailey took the ball to the 22 and forced a penalty which Lennon converted. Cuffley replied with a successful kick at goal minutes later, when Cheshunt came over the top at the ruck, and the game settled into a pattern which remained for the rest of the match. Cuffley were happy to scrummage, but other than a few pick and drives they consistently kicked possession away. Cheshunt however were determined to play a more expansive game, which occasionally gave the travelling supporters some nervous moments, but they often surged up field with sweeping moves, which exhausted the home defence and ultimately paid dividends as they ran riot towards the end of the game. The first try came from quick ball off the top at a lineout on halfway, it was fed to Charlie Langford who broke through the midfield, he linked with Bailey then Johnno Wicks was on hand to step through the remaining defenders and touch down. Cheshunt almost instantly added to the score, frustrated to be held up over the line, they quickly made amends, Bailey again the supplier as he picked from the base of the scrum and passed to Reece Shoobridge who danced over and added his own conversion for a 3-15 lead. On the half hour mark Cheshunt extended the advantage further, a well-practiced move from the scrum saw Dave Lever cut through the middle from 30 yards out and he easily outpace the covering defence, another conversion from Lennon stretched the advantage to 3-22. Cheshunt thought they were in again when Aydan Duligall popped the ball to Wicks in the clear 25 yards out, but the referee declared the pass to be forward and Cheshunt had to be content with a 19 point lead at the break. Cuffley will be pleased with their work at the scrum, but in open play and at the breakdown, Cheshunt consistently had the upper hand and Cuffley only had the ball in hand inside the Cheshunt 22 on a handful of occasions throughout the entire game. Five tries were to follow in the second half, all expertly converted by Lennon, who had a wonderful and assured debut, playing with a maturity beyond his 17 years. The first took a while to come, the beginning of the half was a bit of a stalemate, Cheshunt fielding the long kicks which came down field and tried to run back at the Cuffley line, the Green and Whites were unable to take advantage of a couple of opportunities that came their way, until Marvin Brown collected a Cuffley overthrow at a lineout on halfway. He brushed aside would tacklers and when he was finally stopped just short, Cuffley slowed the ball down; from the penalty, a quick tap was given to Bailey who drove over. Brown was also instrumental in the next try, making ground before the ball found its’ way to Ryan Hussey who smashed through the defensive line and over the whitewash. Duligall thought he had forced his way over from short range, but the referee was unsighted, however, Cheshunt had the presence of mind to re-cycle and Shoobridge was over in the corner for a brace. Tom Claridge and Drew in the centre caused panic with their hard tackling and a rare Cuffley move broke down when the ball was dropped just inside the Cheshunt half, Dan Saunders seized upon the loose ball and as cover came across on the 22, he found Lennon who scooted over to bring up the half century. There was just enough time for one more attack, this time Josh Willcocks was on hand to take the ball over the line and complete the try fest. Another cup clash awaits next week, Cheshunt have been drawn away to Thetford, in the RFU Junior Vase. The league campaign begins the following week, with yet another away trip; one of last season’s front runners Kilburn, will give C’s a stern test.

Martines, Phillips, Bagley, Willcocks, Angel, Langford, Duligall, Bailey, Shoobridge, Wicks, Lever, Claridge, Drew, Walker, Lennon. Replacements (all used) – Brown, Hussey, Pearce, Saunders.