Hatfield 2nd XV 0 - 5 Watford 2nd XV 01/10/05 |
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Watford kicked off up hill on what was a very slippery pitch and began
to dominate the early stages. Though the pack had an experienced look
to it with Ainslie making his first start of the season and the back
row featuring Mullins and Olsen, Bridge had to slot in at 10 with Healy
injured and the three quarters had an unfamiliar look about them.
Unfortunately a referee did not materialise for the game, so Hatfield
as the 'home' side managed to provide a stand in who admitted to the
players prior to the game 'that he had never officiated in a game
before.'
As the game progressed the inexperience of the referee and the
extremely skiddy surface produced a scrappy game with many of the rucks
and mauls appearing to be unsupervised with players entering from the
side and hands all over the place. The wet ball also contributed to a
large number of knock ons and messy lineouts. However Watford
were looking the more expansive of the two sides, continued to dominate
territorially and were able to give their backs regular ball.
Wadham at outside centre, was particularly lively and making half
breaks every time he got the ball, these unfortunately were wasted due
to lack of support. Out on the wings Tucker and Rose also had strong
bursts at the line though they were desperately bundled into touch by
last gasp Hatfield defence. Throughout the first half the only time the home side looked like scoring were from length of the pitch breaks by their pacy scrum half and full back, last ditch chases and tackles were fortunately made by Frankish and (more spectacularly) Wadham in order to keep the score 0-0 at half time. Moving into the second half and the game progressed along in much the same manner as the first period with neither side creating a clear scoring opportunity or being gifted a kickable penalty in the third quarter. Nixon made way for Gary Wilson after about sixty minutes and skipper Thompson had to retire due to a bang on the head (resulting from the pounding from the Hatfield pack and the complete lack of protection from the referee.) Charles came in on the wing, Bridge moved to scrum half and Tucker, Rose and Wadham all stepped inside one position. These changes disrupted the flow, but though Watford managed to largely camp in the Hatfield half, the home side always looked capable of snatching a breakaway try via a missed tackle or an interception. Flanker Olsen believed he had scored in the right hand corner after a maul, but the referee failed to give the try as he could not see whether the ball had been grounded or not. A few minutes later Andy Lee was held up on the line by several defenders after a charge from a tap penalty and acquired a chipped tooth for his efforts. The game suddenly had 0 - 0 stamped all over it and Watford had to shuffle their pack further when Vincent had to leave the park after taking a knock on one of his eyes. The versatile Ainslie ended up playing the final ten minutes in the front row. Finally with five minutes remaining Bridge took a quick tap penalty and passed to Wadham who scorched past several defenders to score in the right hand corner, Rose missed the conversion but finally the red and whites had a lead that they just about deserved. Watford managed to further fray their nerves to the limit by fumbling the ball on their own line though thankfully a couple of five metre scrums were safely negotiated before the final whistle blew. Though the game was a long way from being a great spectacle, the open and even matched nature of the game made it enjoyable to play in and the referee did a great job in the circumstances. Ultimately the statistics for the 2nd XV read that they are yet to concede a point in three games this season, and though they need to convert their chances into points there is surely potential for a strong competitive season. Watford - Reilly, Vincent (Nixon), Ben, Ainslie, Andre, Olsen, Andy Lee, Mullins, Thompson (Charles), Bridge, Tucker, Rose, Nixon (Gary Wilson), Wadham, Rose, Frankish. Try - Wadham Man of the match - Wadham Report by - Andy Frankish |
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