Newly Promoted Fours Prepare for Season with Uphill Struggle (Literally!)

Saturday 11 September 2010
Cheshunt 2nd XV 40 v Bishop's Stortford 4th XV 10

Captain: James Lipscombe
Team Manager: Kevin Stockdale
Sponsor: Fish ‘n’ Chick’n

Man-of-the-match: Harry Fisher

Stortford Fours claimed a victory of sorts on Saturday afternoon, despite a score card which showed them losing by 30 points. After all, the 22-man squad which travelled to Cheshunt were taking on opponents who were two divisions higher than they were last season.

Their mission? To prepare themselves for the rigours of the 2010-11. And pointing to the second half result of 10 points a piece, new skipper James Lipscombe declared: "Mission accomplished!"

Extraordinary measures were necessary after the Fours were surprised (some might say alarmed) to find themselves promoted to Division 3 of the Herts & Middx Merit Table at the end of last season.

"This is going to be a hard season for us and what better way to prepare than to challenge a team in an even higher league to an early season friendly?" asked Lipscombe before the kick-off. Ten minutes into the game, with a blazing sun making a surprise appearance, he might have had second thoughts. From the whistle, the Fours were sucked into a million-miles-an-hour game as the younger and fitter Cheshunt team sent waves of forwards into the No.10 channel. Big Stu Thomas, making a welcome return at Inside Centre, was forced to tidy up the fringes, allowing Cheshunt to repeatedly work a two or three man overlap out wide.

As the Stortford pack struggled to match their heart-rates to the frenzy of the first quarter, and crucial tackles were missed, the boys in blue conceded three tries in quick succession. Worse still, powerhouse lock Rob Neal emerged from the bottom of a ruck with a deep and ugly stud wound to his inside thigh that 11 stitches later would rule him out for the next few weeks.

Stortford worked hard up front to slow the game down. James Lipscombe, playing out of position at stand-off, kicked well for territory and Tristan Wales at open-side started to warm to the task in hand, slowing down the opposition attacks. Rusty tackling skills gradually improved and the big hits started going in, notably from seasoned lock Richard Worboys and wing Dean Greenwood, returning to the club after a long period of injury.

Still the first half was an uphill struggle, both literally and metaphorically, as the opposition try line lay at the top of a 20% gradient. Outside Centre Chris Hadley must have wished he had crampons on as he raced 40 yards for the best scoring chance of the half, but he was bundled into touch before he could get the pass away -- perhaps altitude sickness was to blame!

Although Stortford were 30 points down at the break they seemed to relax into the second half, with the sun now behind them and playing downhill they seemed less fazed by the league seniority of Cheshunt. Wing-forward Harry Fisher workrate was phenomenal in the second-half and key to controlling the fringes and disrupting opposition possession.
Led from No.8 by Kevin Stockdale, the entire pack lifted its game, started to win lineout ball and even began taking scrums against the head. Possession was still hard to come by, but the pack was no longer over-committed and were able to support the backs much more effectively.

The hard work finally paid off. With 15 minutes to go, Cheshunt conceded a penalty which Lipscombe cleared to touch well into the opposition half. Stortford won the ensuing lineout and scrumhalf Mark Brown put the ball over the top. For a moment it looked like he'd put too much weight behind the chip and he almost abandoned the chase, but the ball's flight was misleading and it suddenly veered high and left, landing just in-goal and as it did Brown was somehow lying on top of it while several of the opposition looked on in surprise. Try given!

Some new faces did themselves and their new team mates proud, among them Ally Gillespie on the left wing. A few minutes from the end, he came from nowhere to get on the end of an exploratory arching pass from Mark Brown and dived over the line for Stortford's second try. Newcomer Joe Bunyan rose to the occasion and was solid in defence on the right wing for the second week in a row. Another newcomer, known only as Fudge, was very much part of the heroic forward's fight-back, so everyone was surprised when he announced in the changing room afterwards that he'd never played rugby before.

Two tries were conceded in the second half and the score told against the blues, but the game epitomised what the Fours are all about: a never-die spirit from players aged 18-50, old-hands and newcomers -- some turning out at a moments notice to play out of their skins. Every man jack of them crawled off the pitch exhausted, but confident that they were ready to face the challenges of the new division head on. Man of the match on the pitch was Harry Fisher, an honour he shared with reserve hooker Jock McPartland whose teamwork was no less exemplary when he didn't hesitate to give up his Saturday afternoon game to take Rob Neal to Harlow casualty.