Hertford RFC 36 Colchester 1st XV 22

Colchester competed boldly against a well-organised Hertford side but had problems in the set scrum giving away 2 penalty tries that made the 14 point difference in the final scores.

The Black pack had to be reorganised due to the absence of the Pickett brothers with Eli Castle joining the second row and Ben Murphy on the flank. Hertford kicked off with a strong wind behind them and for 15 minutes the two teams battled it out looking for weaknesses in their opponents. Then Hertford were awarded a penalty that fly half Richard Gregg converted to put them 3-0 ahead. During the subsequent play Colchester wingers Damien Brambley & James Crozier attacked down the sides but were repulsed by their opposite numbers.

Following a successful scrum in the visitors' territory, Hertford moved the ball quickly left for No 14 James Kinsley to score in the corner. Gregg was successful with the conversion putting the hosts at a 10 point advantage. Shortly after this Gregg had to leave the field with an eye injury to be replaced by Paddy Kelly.

Colchester then worked their way up field and, following a successful lineout, moved the ball left for nippy scrum half Brett Cutbush to score a fine try that Higgins converted bringing the scores close at 10-7. Then it was Hertford's turn to apply the pressure & they pressed forward into the visitors' quarter. Three times they were awarded penalties which they chose to scrummage and were eventually awarded a penalty try as Colchester apparently collapsed the scrum deliberately. Prop Dave Langley received a yellow card and at half time the Blacks were down to 14 men and 17-7 in deficit.

After 10 minutes of the second half it was a relief when Jerone Awesu came off the bench but this didn't stop the big Hertford pack from driving up the pitch and , when the ball was released to their centres, twice they crossed the try line only for the ball to be held up by the defenders. Then the referee awarded a second penalty try stretching Hertford's lead to 24-10. They increased this shortly after when Kelly went through under the posts and fullback Stuart Smart converted making it 31-10.

Annoyed at these setbacks, Colchester raised their game and, through hard work by the likes of James Mitchell, Ollie White & Danny Whiteman, battered their heavier opponents back towards their line. From a pile-up fleet-footed Cutbush darted forward and fed Awesu who crashed over the line for a good unconverted try.

Hertford handled this setback well and soon raced up the other end for a try in the corner by right winger James Soloman. Smart's kick rebounded off the post bringing the score to 36-15.

Colchester had the last word, however, when. following a successful scrum on the hosts' 22 line, the ball was moved to acting captain Matt Smith who broke through the tiring defence to score a fine, converted try making the final score 36-22.