Hogan's Heroes

Stortford elected to play against the elements in the first half, a decision that ultimately proved decisive. With wind & rain unimpeded by any structures of substance for miles around, blowing straight down the pitch the game was unlikely to ever be a classic.
Devizes took the lead in the 5th minute when their winger intercepted a loose Stortford pass out wide to canter under the posts. The conversion was a formality 7-0
Ten minutes later they added to their lead when Stortford’s backs were caught offside under their own posts. 10-0. Almost immediately though Stortford were thrown a lifeline when the referee awarded them a kickable penalty of their own, and fly half Harry Heywood made no mistake 10-3.
As the half wore on it was evident that Stortford were beginning to get to grips with the limited ambition game plan that was going to be necessary in order to emerge victorious in such hostile conditions but it was Devizes who extended their lead in the 26th Minute with another penalty kick. 13-3.
Five minutes before half time Stortford responded with what was possibly the pivotal score of the game. Firstly the forwards set up a driving maul close to the Devizes line. Scrum half and Captain Alex Patton recognised that the momentum was stalling so called for reinforcements from his backs. Together all 15 blues shirts drove their bewildered opposition over the line allowing Prop George Hogan to spin off and ground the ball in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed but the psychological statement made by scoring uphill against the wind was telling. 13-8
With no further score before half time it was apparent that a five point advantage was unlikely to be enough for the home side now having to defend against the conditions.
Buoyed by their half time team talk Stortford came out with renewed purpose and stuck resolutely to their game plan of securing territory and then keeping the ball close, using their big powerful forwards to batter down the Devizes defences.
Although it took 8 minutes of the second half before they equalised through an unconverted try from flanker Teddy King it was apparent that as gritty as Devizes were they didn't have the weapons at their disposal to extricate themselves from their confinement and so more Stortford scores were inevitable.
Devizes defended manfully but ten minutes before the end they were broken again by the sheer strength and determination of Man of the Match George Hogan once again. With at least 4 defenders desperately trying to bring him down he somehow managed to keep enough momentum in his tired legs to get over their line and ground the ball. It was an immense individual effort from a player who with his powerful ball carrying was constant threat all game. Heywood added the extras and Stortford led for the first time 13-20
On the stroke of full time lock Joe Tracy emerged from the bottom of another driving maul with the ball to claim Stortford’s 4th try to confirm a hard earned victory against prod opponents. Heywood once again converted. Final score 13-27

Stortford's prize for winning this game is a home tie in the last 8 against Kingsbridge RFC from Devon the date of which is TBA