Unders overcome Overs in down under onslaught

The context and tone of the day was expertly set by the 'Bard from the Balcony' in a pre-match address that was both elegiac and euphoric. All of us that played with Rob on the pitch and danced with him off it, recognised the reflections on a life incredibly well lived. Club Captain Chris Joannou made a presentation to Rob's family, and it was pleasure to meet them and have that reminder of him.

More than 60 players turned out on the Saturday before Christmas to play in Rob's name in a match that pitched Australia (represented by the Under 35s) against England (the Over 35s) in what was meant to be a festive opportunity for the old-salts to throw the ball around and pretend that they used to be good. Indeed, the appeal was such that legerdemain artiste Fossie found time in his International Touch calendar to come and play. Unfortunately, the Unders didn’t get the memo and apparently being young, fit and talented are quite good skill sets for rugby players. Even if the Overs didn’t teach the Unders much on the pitch, apart the well-known Hertford adage "Don’t go anywhere near Robbie Morris" (which they didn’t learn, and kept doing), the Overs certainly provided a great example for the next generation about the Corinthian spirit of club rugby.

Another Hertford tradition is that you should spend at least as long in the changing room as you did on the pitch, preferably with an assortment of winter vegetables and fortified wines. This was exemplified by Dougie who had so much fun in the changing room that in unprecedented scenes he didn’t need to go to the bar afterwards.

The day had started with great optimism as Captain Gawthorne (on secondment, along with the non-Luke Roe match reporter, from the Termites) gathered the troops in the bar for a briefing, ably supplied by Guiness-boy Leon Seabrook. There were numerous side eyes from the Overs as they spotted yet another 1st XV player come in to sign on for the Unders and collect an energy drink. For lower level rugby teams, there is an interminable ritual of checking out whether the opposition have loaded their team with 1st XV players (Alex 'Corporal Jones' Bartlett was very proficient); well there was no hiding the fact that five of Hertford's current finest were looking forward to giving the old men a good beating, along with returning Unders 1st XV favourites Rob Jones (Black Horse), Matt Hankin (Army), and former captain Sitch (Eaton Manor).

The Overs, who had assembled a core of familiar Naughties players that had caused much damage in their time, were mostly undaunted. Other notable additions included the welcomed return of Dave Archer (enjoying his Indian Summer in the second row at Harlow) and Big John (who is due to return to Hertfordshire in the near future). The Overs also had a father / son combo, which in itself is pretty impressive, but also it is believed - and it is a fact until someone can disprove it - that the dad was the oldest person ever to play for the Overs. Jon Dixon is a regular for the 2s to the 4s from second row to fly half, and he was joined by his 68 year dad Tony Dixon on debut for Hertford (Tony - you still need to do a pernod shaker). Jon even passed to his dad in a clear aberration of favouritism, and Tony then showed a great show-and-go as he thundered into attack. Well done gents.

The game itself was a cracker. The Overs started with all of their berserk energy and put the Unders under lots of pressure for 10 minutes. Unfortunately, it was not sustainable, and as soon as the Unders were given some space they cheated by running quickly with the ball. Riddle was particularly guilty of this, and scored a couple of tries.

The Unders kept themselves ahead throughout the game, but the Overs made their impact. Giddings played just like he did 20 years ago until he succumbed to injury, and Storey bamboozled and gambolled just like he did 25 years ago (afterwards there were several "ahhhhh Stores, you'll play next week won't you", and lots of "no ways").

The aspect of the game where the Overs over performed was in the contact and especially the tackle, albeit it was mostly Robbie and his assistant Offy that did the work. Crunching, accordion hits went in as the Overs dominated in the tight. Ellis Roberts (the Termites' tankette) does not shy away from anything, and we thoroughly enjoyed the battle as he ran towards Robbie on two occasions - Einstein's alleged definition of madness.

In a sport in which it has been increasingly difficult to keep 15 players on the pitch, the conspicuously innumerate Peter Grove-White ensured that the Overs kept at least 15 playing. Indeed, as the score line began to stretch away from the Overs, the size of the Overs team seemed to stretch. Nonetheless, the Unders were able to pull away in the second half as Hankin went over for 2 break away tries. Instead of the usual 80 minute demarcation, the much more pragmatic 'everyone looks a bit tired so it would be best if I blow for full time' criteria was applied by Grover.

Much singing followed.

After the Hertford Rugby Club changing room carols, the players and the wider Club got the opportunity to see how the professionals do it as the Ware Brass Band were again led by Bernard Murphy in excelsis (there was much less swearing than the changing room songs).

Thank you very much to all the organisers of the event, and the people that donated prizes to the raffle, and those that have made contributions to the Dignity in Dying Campaign (link below) - donations can still be made:

The Justgiving donation site

Thanks to Guy Massey for the action shots.

Back to business for the 1st XV Unders this Saturday in a massive game against Rochford, and we all look forward to the Bard's Friday 'View from the Balcony'.