Extra A 13 v Hackney 2s 13

The Extra A welcomed Hackney 2's to Silver Leys on Saturday for an eagerly awaited top of the table clash; both teams level on points going into the game. On a high from the outstanding win against Hertford last week we once again fielded a strong team with a good mix of power and pace.

Although the toss was lost and the sun was in our eyes, the Blues started the match strongly and piled pressure on the Hackney line for the opening 5 minutes, but were unfortunately unable to make the most of their territory, with handling errors and a bit of early match jitters getting the better of us. It was Hackney who would take the lead though, somewhat against the run of play, after about 10 minutes after they were awarded a penalty around the Stortford 10m line; this was neatly slotted by their number 10.

The blues fought back valiantly, with forwards Slade, Macfie and Carter all making notable carries into the heart of the Hackney Defence. After several phases of crash balls from our pack and new centre Alex Tindall, there were finally numbers over on the right hand side, the ball made it's way into the hands of Baker who had a 2 on 1 in the corner with Roberts outside of him, he just had to put it in his hands.. he didn't, hence his new nickname Ben 'the butcher' Baker. Luckily Stig dog was on hand and gathered a flick from Roberts to power over in the corner. The conversion was missed, and the Blues led 5-3. The next try went to the visitors, after they exploited space down the left hand side to give them a 3 on 1 and score under the posts; poor defence from the Blues. After this, Fly half Spermy went off with an injured left shoulder; other diagnoses included losing his tampon, fracturing his clitoris and bruising his labia. Embarrassment was saved fortunately for the bearded man after Dean Boyle genuinely asked in the changing room 'what is a labia?'. 5 minutes from half time lock Macfie was yellow carded for going off his feet at a ruck, tit. Half time, 10-5 down.

With 14 men and a re-shuffled backline, the Blues started the second half shakily, and after some pressure on their line, another penalty was awarded to the visitors; this was again duly slotted by their fly half. Stortford fought back once again though, and after strong running from the back 3 of Hale, Stig and Doolan, the Blues won a penalty of their own. Mike Roberts, taking over from the injured Sperm, was successful which reduced the deficit to 5 points. The rest of the game was very much a case of Stortford attacking and Hackney defending, although on one occasion, Hackney had an excellent break and the Blues were kept in the game by an outstanding last ditch tackle from the man, the myth, the maverick; Stig. In a post match interview Stig asked 'why didn't he just f***ing run round me?' profound stuff from the 15. As the game neared the end Stortford kept coming in waves at the Hackney line, with the fresh Mackenzie injecting serious energy alongside the pace and power of Roberts, Roche and Tindall. Finally, with the last play of the match, the ball was played down the left wing into the arms of Baker, who showed great strength and determination to burrow over in the corner; Saint status restored. Last kick of the game went to Roberts with the conversion attempt, it was the hardest of angles from out wide and was unfortunately missed, which meant the game was a draw.

Overall, not the prettiest performance from the Extra A this week, but we showed what a tight knit unit we are becoming by fighting back and not giving up against a very well drilled Hackney side, who are not at the top of the table without reason. A lot of good performances, but Man of the Match this week went to Tom Roche for standing in at fly half and having an outstanding game. D**k of the day went to Jon Doolan, for literally throwing the ball off the pitch and conceding a penalty on our 5 for his troubles. Dean Boyle was also a late contender for the crown for the aforementioned labia comment.

Next week Tring away!