1st XV
Matches
Sat 09 Sep 2017  ·  Herts/Middlesex 1
Staines Rugby
1st XV
17
15
Hendon
Swans start with a hard-fought victory v a solid Hendon outfit.

Swans start with a hard-fought victory v a solid Hendon outfit.

Jorrit Schrauwers10 May 2018 - 22:02
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Swans

Thursdays training session had finished on a high, passes were going to hand, the line-out was slick and the mood was great, this was clearly too good to be true and the Gods conspired to redress the balance! Roll on to Saturday and the build up to the game was ‘interesting’ to say the least, a combination of food poisoning, traffic and forgotten kits meant that we kicked off with 2 players still somewhere on the north circular!
The game kicked off with the Swans playing down the considerable hill and with the stiff breeze in our backs, adrenalin was clearly running through the teams’ veins, as lineouts and passes were overthrown, kicks were over hit and moves were overrun (if Rockey had hair he would have pulled it all out!). Hendon employed a strong pick and go game and worked well attacking the fringes, making space for their hard running centres to attack the Staines back line and make inroads, a strong catch and drive secured the first points of the game for Hendon, the conversion was missed. Staines were starting to find their feet as the adrenalin wore off and we settled into our patterns of play, good work between D Knill, B Byrne and S Brady gave Brady a chance to stretch his legs and put a great kick through resulting in a Hendon lineout on their own 5 meter line, confusion at the resulting lineout and poacher in chief L Roger pounced on the loose ball scoring our first league try of the campaign (first of many we hope). Now in all the excitement I can’t recall Hendons second try, I seem to remember another pushover effort so we will call it that! Again the conversion was missed. As the half was ticking to a close the heavens opened, there were a number of knock-ons resulting in lots of scrums and it was clear to see that Staines were starting to get an ascendancy in the set piece. After a few good carries from the pack, space opened up and Knill (rolling back the years as he grew into the match) unleashed his back line putting the flying blackbelt C Taylor in at the corner. In the final minutes before half time Hendon won a penalty and kicked to the corner, the Swans crowd feared the worst but some strong play from F Young putting his body on the line he ripped the ball from the opposition and we were able to clear our lines.
HT 10-10
Just before the second half kicked of the first of our 2 wayward travellers turned up and went into the game at halftime, L Reeves came on at full back and Byrne took a rest whilst J Lee moved up into the centres. Again my memory fails me on how Hendon scored their 3rd try but they did again the conversion was missed 15-10 to Hendon. A few minutes later our 2nd wayward traveller L Charlton arrived and with J Humphreys carrying a knock to the knee, Staines made a double substitution Charlton for Young and Schrauwers for Humphreys. Staines continued to press for the win, the moves were starting to work well and the centres were starting to knock on the door, once again a strong set up by the pack offered the backs a bit of space and J Lee threaded through to score under the posts, the conversion was successful and Staines were in the lead for the first time. The rest of the game consisted of Staines attacking for wave after wave only to be frustrated by some resolute defence from Hendon, the best action of note was a 30 foot Dan Carteresq flat pass from second row C Moore cutting out 3 Hendon backs and releasing C Taylor on the wing! There was just enough time for one final scare as Hendon broke through but good play by Taylor and Reeves managed to halt the break and we cleared our lines. The game ended with Staines being awarded a penalty and Knill smashing the ball into touch. Plenty to work on but a great start, Hendon fought well and we look forward to the return fixture back at the Reeves on the last day of the season, what happens in-between? We will see!
FT 15-17
#Honesty #Commitment #Respect #Effort

Match details

Match date

Sat 09 Sep 2017

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Herts/Middlesex 1

League position

3
Hendon
9
Staines
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