Lower numbers than expected in the Hertford squad led to some quick restructuring of last nights B fixture, but in no way diminished the quality of rugby and fun had by all. A handful of enthusiastic Hertford players joined our squad of 17 to warm up before we split into two mixed teams of 11, the 'StortHert Barbarians' all donning Stortford shirts whilst our lads in the 'StortHert Lions' swallowed their pride and wore the Hertford colours. However, once the game kicked off all allegiances to either club were put to one side and a fantastic and genuinely competitive match took shape. In very wet and slippery conditions, players on both teams took great pleasure in having the opportunity to face up to team mates in a competitive situation and hit some no-holds barred tackles; although the timing of Dylan Sanders' crunching tackle in the middle of the pitch was in his own words 'maybe a bit late'!

Tries were shared between players from both Stortford and Hertford, Fabian (Hertford) was the pick of the players from our guests whilst Monty worked really hard to find space to run into, scoring two tries for the Barbarians from some great supporting play from Ellis and Ed. Player of the match ended up on the losing team, Ben Pedlar - who seemed to think he was still playing 7's - used strength and pace to run in multiple tries (3?) and was just as effective with the boot for the conversions.

An end to end match provided great entertainment for a fantastic crowd and when we all found our way back to the bar in the darkness - sorry about the floodlights, the 50p does not last long in the meter these days - the lads from both teams along with families and friends enjoyed a great post match atmosphere.
Massive thank you from us all to Rob for arranging the fixture, the bar staff and Lisa from the caterers for feeding and watering us all and all the parents that helped out serving food and supervising the lads with the brooms! Finally, a special mention to the boys that helped sweep up our changing room and leave it ready for the weekends fixtures.

Richard and Ben