Old Albanians 4ths 0 - 9 Watford 2nds - 17/09/05 |
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Watford arrived in the plush little complex situated just north of the
fine Roman City of Verulamiam with possibly the youngest (but one of the keenest) sides that I have ever been a part of. Take away the grizzled veterans and the (mentioning no names) and the average age of the side would have struggled to get far beyond 20. Eventually after getting over the plasma screens, sizable changing rooms and 'I predict a riot' being pumped through the PA system we took the field against what was inevitably a more experienced OA's side. The initial quarter took place almost entirely in our own half and in all honesty OA's could easily have notched three or four tries due to the intense pressure they put on the Watford line. However they dropped some silly ball, failed to exploit overlaps and also came up against some dogged defence. Watford also contributed to this by struggling to secure their own ball in both the scrums and the line out. At the end of this period of dominance OA's were held up over the line, (respect to both Lee's in laying their bodies on the line) and this appeared to be something of a turning point giving Watford extra confidence and knocking the stuffing out of the home side. Watford began to recycle the ball and go through the phases working their way slowly into the OA's half, this pressure resulted in two penalties being given away by the home side. The first was eminently kickable but the second was out on the left wing and as we were near their line it was a tough call to go for the three or the five. Luckily the correct call was made and 'Bendy' delivered the goods and half time came with Watford posting a 6-0 lead leaving some of the home players looking shell shocked. As the game progressed Dennis had a word with the front row and we achieved at least parity in this restart as although we went on to lose a couple against the head we also managed to steal a couple of their put ins. The line out also improved immeasurably with Andy Lee securing most of our ball and a good portion of theirs from the middle and Bridge taking more than his fair share at the back. The second half was keenly contested with Watford having perhaps a slight edge and with a more secure platform they were able to launch some good attacking moves of their own. Eighteen stone full back, Cameron broke the gain line a couple of times and really should have scored but knocked on with the line beckoning. Martin Lee went on a couple of thunderous charges at the line, (taking the direct route through the defence not around it) and with closer support Watford could have been in. With about ten minutes remaining another chance was given to 'Bendy' to stretch the lead further, this was taken with aplomb and Watford were now 9-0 up. OA's still threw everything at us and great try saving tackles were made both by Baby and Tucker who had just come off the bench, but the tryless state remained and a great victory was achieved by the red and whites. I think I can speak for the whole side in saying how good it felt to go somewhere like OA's and play a side who expected to beat us without getting out of first gear and leave taking the spoils. The overpriced beer in their All Bar One (esque) pavillion tasted sweet in the aftermath and trust me they didn't like being beaten, Jason Shepherd (who their web site gave man of the match to) included! Watford - Reilly, Vincent, Ben, Martin Lee, Andre, Bridge, Cox, Andy Lee, Thompson, Healy, Baby (Tucker), Portway, Rose, Frankish, Cameron. Scorer - Healy, pens (3) Man of the Match - No nomination, all players contributed. Coached by - Tidy and Annie. Written by - Andy Frankish. |
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