Bishop's Stortford 1st XV 48 Havant 43

The home side picked up where they had left off in their last game at Gravesend and shot into an early convincing lead. The first try came after 5 minutes, when prop, Adam Gelman burst over under the posts after winger, Jack Knowles had made good ground. Joe Clarke kicked the conversion, as he did 9 minutes later, when Dave Aldam got the touchdown after Marcus Cattell broke more Havant tackles. The third try and a 19 point lead came on 18 minutes with winger, Simon Wasley rounding off a great break by Knowles, who fielded a Havant kick and ran the ball back before chipping ahead, leaving the visitors' defence all at sea, as he regathered and spun out a long pass to his winger. Instead of pressing on for the comfortable victory almost in their grasp, Stortford lapsed into their worst slapdash ways. The 19 point margin seemed to trigger a compulsion to play festival rugby - unfortunately, much of what was produced in the next 22 minutes was more suited to the Edinburgh Festival, rather than a rugby festival, as basic error upon basic error was committed and duly capitalised on by a progressively invigorated opposition. As a result, by half time Stortford found themselves 26-19 down thanks to two dreadful intercepted passes and two bad kicking errors, all of which led to tries to the visitors. The home cause wasn't helped by the collection during this period of yellow cards by Wasley and flanker, Richard Gill for almost identical offences of late shoulder charges, as Havant players kicked ahead.

Some doubtless sharp words from the Stortford coaches at half time seemed to have some early effect as second row, Hamish Irving scored a good try five minutes into the half, crossing out wide and running right behind the posts to make an easy conversion for Clarke. Eight minutes later and the home side regained the lead, as flanker Maehe Austin made an impressive run down the right and drew the last man before feeding Tom Coleman on his inside shoulder for a good try. The lead was stretched to 8 points some 3 minutes later, as Clarke kicked a penalty for a breakdown offence. Back came Havant, though and it took some stern defence to hold them out. Having managed to force an error out of the marauding visitors, however, Stortford proceeded to concede a penalty at the engagement of the resultant scrum and were unable to hold out the next attacking wave, which brought a converted try to Havant after 20 minutes. It was now the vistors' turn to show some generosity and Wasley was able to seize on a handling error well inside the Stortford half to hack ahead and race away for a try under the Havant posts after 25 minutes. A yellow card five minutes later to Havant's coach, recently on as a second row substitute further helped the home cause and another try was quickly added, as Colemen dummied over from good ball at a subsequent scrum in the Havant 22. Undaunted, though, the visitors came back and were pressing in the Stortford 22, when a speculative long pass reached a Havant centre on the bounce, which wrongfooted the defence and a simple dummy was enough to see him over for yet another converted try on 35 minutes. It remained only for Stortford to lapse once more into Edinburgh Fringe mode by conceding a comical penalty under their own posts, which the visitors kicked to take their second bonus point, as the last play of the game.

Mercedes Man of the Match was Maehe Austin, who appears to have refound his enthusiasm for the game in the last two matches, following a lengthy injury lay-off and was prominent throughout without the lapses to which most of his team-mates from time to time fell victim.