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Watford arrived at second in the table Harrow (defeated only once this season) confident after their large victory last week, however they were down to a bare 16 players and lacking experience particularly in the pack. Discounting old heads, Bridge and Reilly the average age of the pack must have been something like 21 or 22, elsewhere in the side skipper Thompson and half back partner Jenkins took on virtual veteran status.
Watford like last week, had a strong opening managing to pressure the Harrow kick off, seizing on a knock on and forcing an attacking line out deep into their opponents half. After the initial burst of pressure Watford were able to come away with three points kicked by Johnson from a penalty awarded for an offence around the ruck. Things got even better for the away side as though they were pegged back within their own half by the heavier Harrow pack, number 8 Bridge managed to spot some space on the right and passed to full back Frankish who was able to draw the Harrow winger in before slipping the ball to right winger Rose. Rose managed to outpace the Harrow cover from deep within his own half, though as he neared the try line he was forced to kick around the last covering defender, knowing he was beaten the Harrow player blocked him to prevent him grounding the ball. The referree had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try in front of the posts and Johnson added the two points to take Watford to a 10 - 0 lead.
The second quarter of the game was where Watford the contest was settled, as usual in recent weeks after taking the lead Watford began to sit back a little, missed far too many tackles and allowed Harrow's muscular pack to take the ascendancy, in particular their number 8, who went on to score two or three tries and their fly half. The second Harrow try was very fortunate in that the ball skewed out of the scrum at a funny angle, all the players stopped and looked at the referee other than the Harrow scrum half who was able to ground the ball under the posts unopposed. In all Harrow scored four tries, three of which were converted to give them an interval lead of 26-10.
In the second half Watord fought back and competed a lot more strongly with their opposite numbers, they managed to force some real pressure on the Harrow line and their backs began to try to run the ball around the destructive but cumbersome Harrow pack. Simon Tucker was rewarded for his strong running on the left wing throughout with two tries (both converted) to give a more respectable look to the scoreline, however it must be noted that one of these scores was on the final whistle. Harrow themselves kicked a penalty and a converted try in the second period.
In the final analysis Watford were well beaten by a significantly bigger and more experienced side, however they showed spirit throughout and never stopped competing. On the positive side they won the second half 14-10 and kept Harrow to a single try in this period, they also looked to counterattack from deep whenever possible though at times this became a little desperate due to the significant deficit they had incurredthrough their first half performance.
Watford - Reilly, Vincent, Jones, Andre, Davis, Mikey, Hicks, Bridge, Thompson, Jenkins, Tucker, Johnson, Burgess, Rose (Charles), Frankish.
Tries
Tucker (2)
Penalty Try (Rose)
Conversions
Johnson (2)
Jenkins
Penalty - Johnson
Man of the Match - Bridge
Report by - Andy Frankish
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