Watford 66 vs 7 Old Tottonians

Man of the Match: Whole Squad

Watford looked to take last week’s second half display into this week’s league game from the first whistle, against opposition that they have not beaten for some time. The game didn't start in the best of manners for Watford as they had to make a substitution within the first minute, with evergreen Peter Jenkins coming on in the centres for the unlucky Andy Lee. However with his first touch of the ball Jenkins opened the scoring for Watford with a try which was converted by scrum half Simon Maney, to give the home team the perfect start and go into a 7 - 0 lead. With Watford anxious to make sure that they didn't make the same mistakes as last week, they pushed on looking for further scores, which came in the form of tries from debutant James Betteley on the wing and No 8 Martin Lee, with one converted and one missed by Maney to make the half time score 19 - 0 to Watford.
 
Watford's half time talk was of making sure that they stayed composed and that getting the first score of the second half was vital.
 
Watford pushed on in the second half with the forwards working tirelessly to disrupt the oppositions bigger pack, with particular mention to the impressive Ben Jones at prop in his first outing of the season. With a mixture of experience and youth Watford's set piece held its own, with Greg Reeve dominant in the line out in his final game before going to university. With good ball being won by the forwards Watford’s backs were being directed by fly half Tom Kiely and the tries started to flow, with further scores coming from Jenkins, Betteley, M. Lee, Kiely (2) second row Ian Davis and hooker Paul Dunlop, with 4 converted by Maney and 2 by replacement Clarke Jenner. In between these the away team registered their only points with a converted try after forcing pressure on the home team in its 22. The final score was 66 -7 to Watford
 
Captain Simon Maney commented that this was a performance that a good preseason had indicated was possible, with all 18 in the squad contributing to the victory. As pleasing as it is to get the first league win of the season, this win is hopefully the first of what will be a long season. Tougher tests will come and the team must display the same spirit and attitude to each and every game. Levels must be maintained to ensure that the team morale stays at its current high.
 
Team: G. Wilson, Dunlop, Jones, Davis, Mitchell, Flint, Reeve, M. Lee, Maney, Kiely, Tucker, A. Lee, Gillies, Betteley, P. Wilson. Subs: Jenkins for A. Lee, Smith for Flint and Jenner for Maney.