Herts/Middlesex 1 03/10/2015

After building a comfortable lead, with 30 minutes left on the clock , Cheshunt were very disappointed to not walk away with a bonus point victory, letting UCSOB’s, with a limited game plan, come back and snatch victory, taking all the chances that came their way. It was the home side who took an early lead after Cheshunt failed execute an exit plan form the kick off, despite winning an early scrum against the head they were soon caught offside and, as he was to do all afternoon, the fly half’s accurate kick opened the scoring. Cheshunt though were soon into their stride when UCS didn’t claim the ball at the re-start, a Cheshunt lineout 12 yards out was driven towards the line, Connor Pearce was held up just short, but quick ball along the line allowed Scott Cummines to draw the last defender and send Omid Amani over in the corner. The visitors soon had another opportunity when they were awarded a penalty just inside the 22, they opted for a lineout, but they turned the ball over, they soon won it back at another scrum, but next time UCS got their hands on the ball, they immediately cleared down field. Another chip into the 22 looked dangerous, but Declan Walker was quick to cover from the far wing and bravely fell on the loose ball and Cheshunt cleared. The breakdown became a mess, neither side able to produce any decent quick ball, both sides made unforced errors and were unable to capitalise on any promising positions. Reece Shoobridge pushed a penalty attempt wide and when they had more attacking penalties close to the UCS line, they opted to run them, again spilt ball gave the home side a chance to counter and they were quickly in the Cheshunt half, when they forced a penalty at the scrum they had the lead again with another successful kick. Cheshunt looked to have wasted another chance when they again turned the ball over on the UCS 22, but Aydan Duligall was quickly up on the fly half and charged his down his clearing kick, Marvin Brown was on hand to win the race to touch the ball down and C’s went into the break with a 6-10 advantage. C’s started the second period brightly, a knock on from the home team gave the Green and Whites an attacking scrum, they maintained possession through several phases close to the line and Josh Willcocks was bundled over the line to extend the lead to 9 points. A poor re-start allowed UCS to kick to the corner and they remained in the danger zone until a further penalty gave their reliable kicker another chance to reduce the deficit to 9-15. UCS were now beginning to get on top and their next attack was only halted by a try saving tackle from Shoobridge, however, C’s were guilty of some very poor decision making and allowed UCS to run the game. Playing a penalty advantage a nicely weighted chip from the fly half was collected by the right winger just short of the line, he fell over the whitewash, the extras were added and UCS were back in the lead at 16-15 with 10 minutes left. C’s were a little frustrated when the referee didn’t play any advantage from a UCS knock on around half way, Tom Claridge, with two players in support was clear when play was brought back, again Cheshunt lost valuable possession and a mix up at the back when the home side kicked through led to Cheshunt conceding another penalty, which was slotted between the uprights, which meant Cheshunt would need to score a try to regain the lead in the closing minutes. A couple of penalties kept Cheshunt interested but they couldn’t advance further than the 22 and UCS were happy to boot the ball into touch when the ball was turned over again. The games don’t get any easier for Cheshunt; they face a difficult away trip to league leaders London Welsh on Saturday, who have picked up a try bonus point in all of their games so far this season.

Martines, Phillips, Hussey (R), Brown, Willcocks, Langford, Duligall, Pearce, Shoobridge, Wicks, Walker, Claridge, Cummines, Amani, Saunders. Replacements – Angell, Henderson, Tearle.