Watford 1st XV 31vs 10 Cuffley 1st XV

Man of the Match: Martin Lee

In conditions which were far from conducive to attractive rugby, it was the home side who enjoyed the majority of possession and territory in the opening 10 minutes. Despite never threatening the Watford line, Cuffley were able to keep the visitors pinned in their own half and prevent them from playing the pacey, running rugby which has been this seasons trademark. Watford were eventually able to get their hands on the ball, and steady retention from the pack took them into the Cuffley half. An excellent break from Kiely took him to the 22, where he committed the full back before offloading to Gilmore to run in unopposed. Philpott added the extras to put the away side 7-0 up. Watford were soon on the scoresheet again, Martin Lee peeling away from a maul in the Cuffley 22 and beating the winger to score under the posts. With the extras added, Watford found themselves 14-0 up with only twenty minutes played. Watford laid siege to the opposition line, vice captain Hicks unlucky to be held up over the line following good work from Bennett. The Stags were not to be denied however, and Lee drove over from the subsequent scrum. The number 8 complete his hat trick before half time, following on from good work by Bennett and Kiely.

With the bonus point wrapped up, Watford were once again guilty of taking their foot off the gas in the second half. Cuffley deployed some dubious tactics in order to halt the away team, and this allied with inconsistent refereeing and poor playing conditions led to a scrappy, unattractive second period. The hosts used the conditions to good effect, and were able to score two unconverted consolation tries much to Watford’s chargrin. Skipper Flint was somewhat harshly sin binned for handling on the floor, however this did not stop Watford scoring the try of the afternoon. Breaking from deep, the ball was worked to Paul Wilson who made great inroads into the Cuffley half. He passed to substitute winger Botha, who showed an excellent turn of pace to beat the cover and score in the corner.

A final score of 31-10 was probably just about fair, however Watford will feel they could, and should, have scored more. Skipper Flint, whilst pleased to secure a second consecutive bonus point victory highlighted that more work was required. “Yet again the lads did the hard work in the first half, before easing off in the second. I’ve lost count of the number of times this season this has happened. In a league as tight as ours, it is crucial to show a ruthless streak and continue attacking for the full 80 minutes. If we had not conceded two soft tries, we would be third on points difference”. The skipper highlighted the next two games, away to British Airways and home to London Springboks as crucial to the seasons success. “If we are able to secure another two wins, this will put us in good shape for the run in and give us every chance of securing our target of a top three finish.”

Watford 1^st XV: Philpott, Flint, Hicks, G. Wilson, J. Stevens (Munday 40), Hammill, Dunlop, M. Lee (Bernarius 60), Bennett, Hopkins, Gilmore, Kiely, P. Wilson, Yates (Botha 40), Butcher.

Tries: M. Lee x 3, Gilmore, Botha

Conversions: Philpott x 3