Chindits 15 Letchworth 3XV 5

The brief snow flurry on Saturday morning ensured that there was standing water on the 4th team pitch as the Chindits warmed up for this vital clash with Letchworth on Saturday.
The lineout was working well and the backs were looking sharp so the 4’s opted to return to the changing room for the final words before kick-off.
The referee for this game was HMMT stalwart Foggy Atkinson and we knew from previous encounters that he doesn’t like any form of dialogue from players during the game so the pre-match conversation was all about taking the game to Letchworth from the off and not reacting to any decisions no matter how controversial they appeared to be.
Letchworth won the toss and chose ends so the Chindits took the kick off.
James Laing got things going with a low bouncing kick and the Stortford forwards were quick to make the first tackle pegging Letchworth back in their 22 and this is more or less where play stayed for the first 20 minutes.
The Chindits piled huge pressure on Letchworth and had it not been for the greasy slippery ball Stortford would have been a couple of tries up in short order but, inevitably in the conditions, there was knock on after knock on followed by scrum after scrum.
Thankfully the Chindits scrum was working well securing every ball on their own put in and stealing a number against the head throughout the game.
This gave the forwards a great platform and their patience eventually paid off with Mark Brown whipping the ball out the back of a ruck to James Laing who got it moving down the line for Chris Collings to crash over in the corner.
James Laing missed the conversion from out wide but the score further bolstered the Chindits confidence who were quickly camped back on the Letchworth 22.
Paul Byrne almost linked up with Chris Collings a few minutes later but the last pass didn’t go to hand. Dave Strafford almost linked up with Chris Collings for a score and Josh Wheatley made several blistering runs and was denied by the bounce of the ball.
Whist the backs were stretching the Letchworth defence the forwards continued to batter them.
Dave Walker was denied by knocking on whilst grounding the ball off the back of a scrum but, moments later, Max Oliver latched onto a pass and barged his way over the line close to the posts.
Unfortunately James Laing missed the additional points but the Chindits went into half time 10-0 up having had the majority of possession.
During the break to team talked about maintaining the intensity and continuing to dominate in terms of territory and possession. We also talked about standing up in the tackles and using the maul which had proved so effective in the previous fixture earlier in the season.
Letchworth took the re-start and Dave Brunner gathered the ball and quickly put the Chindits back on the front foot.
The forwards worked their way into the Letchworth 22 and the ball went out wide through Stu Thomas and George Keyes to Chris Collings who darted for the line and bundled his way over.
The referee arrived late and gave Letchworth the benefit of the doubt and judged the ball held up.
As the minutes ticked away the Letchworth forwards started to get themselves organised and went through several phases to make a rare visit into the Chindits 22.
The Stortford defence got stretched by over committing at the resulting rucks and Letchworth used their backs to create an overlap and score a very good try completely against the run of play.
Whilst Letchworth were taking the conversion (which was ultimately missed) Stortford gathered under the posts and talked about remaining calm and regaining the initiative.
From the re-start Stortford were quickly up on Letchworth who kicked the ball to touch. At the resulting lineout Max Oliver (who by this stage was playing with a broken nose) gathered the ball and set up a maul.
The forwards got set and got the ball moving. Ed Rudge who was returning for his first game after tearing his ACL at the start of the season broke off the back into space and offloaded to Chris Collings. Chris was tackled but quick ball from the back of the ruck saw Dave Walker latch onto the ball and drive his way over the line.
This was a great response from Stortford and really settled the nerves. Dave Brunner made way for Eoghan Burke at 6 and Jake Brough came on at 15 with George Keyes taking a breather and Dave Strafford moving to 13.
Letchworth knew the game was slipping away and their 9 started to complain about Brownie around the scrums.
Foggy (the referee) needs little encouragement to penalise Brownie and immediately lost patience with him giving him a warning for, and I quote, ‘Doing what he is doing’ (although he was completely unable to explain to me what ‘it’ was).
Once Brownie was on the radar it was only going to end one way and, 3 minutes from the end of the game, Brownie was spotted gently trampling all over a Letchworth player sealing off the ball in a ruck and was given his marching orders……..So that was dick of the day sorted!
Despite some sustained pressure in the last few minutes Letchworth were unable to gain any traction in the Stortford 22 and at the final whistle the 4’s ran out 15-5 winners to secure the win and to gain an unassailable lead in the league.
Man of the match was Dave Walker for making a number of huge tackles in the second half pegging Letchworth back in their own half at a time when they were starting to gain some ascendancy. He also got the try that put us out of sight. Great work Dave.
This was an ugly game but a great win in very poor conditions and the whole team deserves massive congratulations for seeing off Letchworth who are always tough opposition, cementing our position in HMMT League 4 and securing promotion next season.
An exceptional season so far with a great bunch of guys!
The team celebrated in some style with a 'Guilty Pleasures' themed evening at the club and into town afterwards which probably explains why this report has taken me about 3 hours to write.
The final two league games are against OA’s (away) and Tring (Home) and we want to see out the season is style before focusing on the cup in April.