BSRFC 4th Team Vs Saracens Amateurs Match Report

BSRFC 4th Team Vs Saracens Amateurs
Match Report
On a windy afternoon we visited a Saracens side that had only lost 2 games all season. Buoyed by a good performance the week before against a good Old Grammarians side we went into the game knowing that only a similar display would give us any chance of coming away with a win.
Saracens won the toss and elected to have the strong wind at their backs in the first half. Saracens started the game well, pinning Stortford down in their half with some good kicking and strong mauling work. Stortford’s excellent pack met everything Saracens could throw at them. Tom McKirdy and Mark Beckett were immense at the breakdown, getting over the ball quickly to slow the fast paced style of the Saracens game. With no man giving an inch in the tackle, especially the dogged Mark Brown who was a constant thorn in the Saracens team all day the tough Stortford defence were incredibly difficult to breakdown. Luke Webber created Stortford’s first opportunity from 22 meters out, weaving his way through the Saracens defensive line to set up the winger Chris Evans in the corner who was unlucky to be bundled into touch by the scrambling defence.

Stortford then launched wave after wave of attack on the Saracens 5 meter line with Steve Hearn coming the nearest to scoring, being held up going over the try line. Unfortunately a handling error saw a quick turnover of ball and Saracens cleared up to the Stortford 10 meter line, such was the strength of the wind. Saracens first try came from the resulting line out, scored by their scrum half who managed to wriggle his way through a tackle and speed across the line. This try was converted and Saracens took a 7-0 need. Stortford began to probe the midfield with Oliver Paget and James Redding running the ball back into the Saracens pack in order to retain possession. Oliver Paget’s strong running really began to take its toll and he soon managed to get across the gain line time after time, setting up a platform for attack for his team. The half time whistle went with the game very evenly poised at 0-7 but Stortford knew that with the wind at their backs and there increasing dominance at the breakdown this game was far from over.

It was however Stortford who were the first to concede after a handling error just inside the Saracens half saw the ball hit the floor to the grateful Saracens fly half who kicked the ball all the way to the try line. The kick was converted and somehow Stortford saw themselves 14-0 down within 5 minutes of the second half. This runaway try seemed to galvanise the Stortford team into the finest second half display of the season. Luke Webber kept Saracens pinned down inside their own 10 meter line for pretty much the rest of the game. Stortford’s pack out muscled the Saracens pack at scrum time, driving them off the ball on every occasion. Saracens had no rest bite at line outs either as Tom Mckirdy and David Walker disrupted the Saracens ball on every occasion. This pressure soon told.

The Saracens fly half, desperate to clear his lines from his own 22 attempted to kick the ball downfield to relieve some pressure but with the Saracens defence being pulled all over the pitch Perry Davies caught the spiralling ball in difficult windy conditions and used his pace to sprint for the corner and touchdown for Stortford’s first try. The conversion was missed but Stortford were right back in the game. 5 minutes later after some good work from Luke Webber, Olly Paget went sprinting under the posts after shrugging off his man with a powerful run. Stortford converted this try and were now only 2 points down with twenty minutes on the clock. Stortford did not rest on their laurels and played intelligent probing rugby. There next points came by way of a penalty from 25 meters out as the Saracens flanker was adjudged to be using his hands in the ruck. Luke Webber kicked the penalty in difficult conditions and Stortford were now 15-14 up. Stortford then scored almost immediately from the restart after some quick rucks and superb handling saw Steve Hearn go over in the corner. Saracens looked a beaten team after this as Stortford dominated the closing stages. James Redding scored another try after some great inter play in midfield. The kick was converted and the score was 27-14 to Stortford. Seconds later the final whistle was blown and Stortford walked away with a fantastic victory in what was an incredible 2nd half performance.

All players were awarded the man of the match award and a special thanks to Graeme Pearman who carried on playing even though he was suffering from a knee injury he had picked up earlier in the game.