BSRFC U18 27 v Barnet Elizabethans 7

A mixed under 18 side arrived at Silver Leys on a sunny Sunday morning looking to put their hard work over the summer into practice against Barnet, a side that have always been strong.

Stortford started strongly with winger Thomas Wharton going over in the corner after 5 minutes, 5-0 to Stortford. Some sloppy defending and dare I say it a large degree of complacency stepped in allowing Barnet to score under the post following a sustained attack which saw their 13 cut a superb line from close range. This galvanised the home side into action with skipper Josh Jones leading from the front and scoring under the posts, with Garratt adding the extras, 12-7 Stortford. Two further scores from Wharton again and Garrett saw Stortford take a 22-7 half time lead.

The second half saw Stortford control the game for long periods but some questionable decision making and too many unforced errors saw points go begging. However, Stortford defended strongly and managed to add a score through Tim Simpson which saw the home side running out 27-7 winners.

A solid start to the season for the Under 18s who, whilst pleased with the win, will be disappointed not to have added more points to a score line that flattered the visitors. A special mention to Ciaran Galligan and Oliver ‘Panda’ Clarke who both played for the opposition for 20 minutes when they were down to 14 men. Both boys were a credit, to their club, our age group and rugby in general.

We move forward.

RJB – 22/09/2017