Datchworth 15 - 5 BERFC

Our first visit to the picture postcard village of Datchworth for four years. The current Datchworth side have maintained a high standard of rugby throughout the juniors, and will be spending their fourth season on the trot in HML Division 2. With BERFC U16s newly promoted to Div 3, this was a step up from the standard of opposition we’d normally come up against in friendlies, and we knew we’d face a stern test.

Two late withdrawals due to sickness (one en-route) and another one gone AWOL (partying??) but nevertheless a squad of 20 turned up. Datchworth had similar numbers and we agreed to play four quarters of 20 minutes.

Datchworth started the first session playing down the slope and with the wind behind their backs had BERFC pinned deep in their 22, and it was apparent very early on exactly why Datchworth had maintained their Div 2 status, with a strong running set of backs causing the BERFC defence plenty of problems, and any turned over ball kicked back making little distance due to the wind.

The scrums were fairly evenly matched, and the wind caused problems for both sides in the lineout – and a single converted penalty brought the first 20 minutes to a close with Datchworth 3 – 0 to the good.

With the elements in BERFC’s favour in the second quarter, good pressure was put on Datchworth in their own 22, but they were equal to anything BERFC could muster, and on a foray into the BERFC 22 were awarded a penalty which they took quickly. The BERFC forwards were slow to retire, and the ref marched Datchworth forward for another penalty 5 metres out, which they crashed over to bring the score at the end of the second quarter to 10 – 0 .

The third quarter, with BERFC playing against the elements once again, saw them have their best session of the game, just falling short of the line on two occasions. A storming run from Kadeem saw him hauled into touch just yards from the line, and 5 minutes later Louis W cut through, only to lose his footing with the line at his mercy. BERFC were made to pay heavily as Datchworth forced their way down the pitch and with BERFC fighting a rearguard action, a scrum won in their own 22 and a wayward pass gifted the Datchworth fly-half a try – allowing Datchworth to extend their lead to 15 – 0 with 55 minutes played.

BERFC continued their fight up the hill and their perseverance finally paid dividends as first Sam , then big Joel crashed over the gain line in quick succession and the ball was recycled rapidly for Luke to cross in the corner, and close the gap to 15 – 5 .

With a touchline official informing the ref that we should only be playing a maximum of 70 minutes, he took the decision to limit last session to ten minutes. A number of Datchworth players required attention for cramp during the last quarter, and although BERFC pressed hard to narrow the score, they were unable to get any more points on the board.

A hard but fairly fought match – with praise from both sets of coaches. All of the 20 BERFC players stepped up to the mark, and put down markers for next week’s league fixtures. A great tackling performance from Harry , some notable work in the loose from big Joel, and another outstanding performance from Andreas at flanker, maintaining a high tackle and turn over count. A very competent set of Datchworth backs provided a stern test for the BERFC backs.

Despite the loss, a far more satisfying performance than the previous week’s try-fest.