Bishops Stortford vs Tring 33-0

Our first league fixture of the season saw us entertain Tring RFC. The match kicked off in bright sunshine and the early exchanges saw both packs meeting each other head on. Stortford’s defence was particularly solid and the boys gradually imposed themselves on the opposition. The lack of forward progress by Tring saw them kick possession away on a number of occasions. One of their clearance kicks was kept in play by a leaping Juniper which enabled the boys to run the ball back at Tring. On this occasion they went through a couple of phases, producing quick ball and got the ball out wide to Ewan who exploited the space which a dart along the line and he was able to run in under the posts. The kick was converted by Lilley score 7-0. Play continued in a similar vein with both teams making small errors which interrupted the flow of the game. Despite winning some ball Tring could not make any head way and after being penalised for not releasing, Civil took the opportunity with a quick tap penalty to himself and with a weaving run eluded all the opposition running a full two thirds of the pitch and touching down. The try was converted and the score 14-0. No further progress was made and the score remained 14-0 when the referee whistled for half time.

The second half saw a similar pattern with Tring being pinned back in their 22 and finding themselves having to kick to clear their lines. This led to one of their kickers being charged down and the loss ball picked up by Demmon who ran in unopposed for a league debut try. Lilley’s successful kick took the score to 21-0. The pressure on Tring was steadily increasing and the boy’s were putting together better phases of play. This led to a score where the ball went fully along the back line going through the hands of all the players involved in the move and making use of the overlap which saw Shannon go over in the corner. The try was not converted and the score was 26-0 achieving the bonus point. Tring despite the score line were stubborn opponents and kept going right to the end. One further score was achieved by Cooper a driving try after some good forward play. The try was converted by Lilley. The comfortable score line did not tell the whole story of a spirited display by Tring who met a Stortford side who were very strong in defence and took their chances well.

Final score 33-0.

Team

Civil, Cooper, Crafford,Crowhurst, Demmon, Ewan, Florence, Forbes (capt), Hopkinson, James, Jones, Juniper, Keen, Lilley, Precious, Radley, Shannon, Stenhouse, Wells, Willis and Wilson,