HML U16 D4 Bishop's Stortford B 22 Watford 7 (Tries- Venus (2), Etherington, Kettle. Con- Kettle)

Tries from Etherington, Kettle and two from Venus made for a comfortable looking score line. In truth, Watford were extremely difficult to beat and there were large parts of the game where Stortford had to dig deep to hold their lines.

It was Venus who opened the scoring early on to seal a dominant start for the Blues. From the restart Watford took the greater share of possession and almost levelled when they were held up at the line. Stortford then had a succession of attacks but some handling errors meant a few promising opportunities went begging. Persistence paid off when enough space was created on the left for Etherington to double the lead. Stortford went in 10-0 at half time.

The second half saw Watford enjoy almost as much of the game as Stortford had conceded at Biggleswade last week. The difference this time is that their defence held out superbly, It also helped having subs available. Watford were again thwarted at the line and it seemed inevitable that they would soon get back into the match.

From a rare break though, Florence opened the Watford guard and played in Kettle, who with plenty to do crossed the line and converted to put some daylight between the sides. 17-0. Venus then all but made the game safe with his second and Stortford's fourth, bonus point, try.

To their credit Watford never relented and between the scores kept up the pressure in Stortford's 22. They eventually got a deserved 7 points but the Blue line held out in a tough last 10 minutes.

Not the usual free flowing game from the lads, it was unusual to see them win in the manner in which they've lost before. Scrummaging, line-outs and rucks worked well and there were some big performances from the forwards. Glydon and Kettle, as half backs, were perhaps the only fixtures in the game, where many positional changes had to be made throughout.

The B's end the year on a high, 12 points from 4 matches (and so nearly more) at this level is more than respectable. Well done.

Team- Arnold, White, Dann, Watt, Wilson, Keene, Martin, Avontuur, Alibhai, Blomiley, Benfield, Guy-Walters, Etherington, Glydon, Kettle, Venus, Willis, Allen, Guglielmucci, Wyatt, Florence.