If a grey and wet Sunday morning in St Albans exuded little obvious excitement, the finals of the Hertfordshire County Cup brought sunshine and joy in abundance for Hertford RFC’s under 16s’ teams, who claimed a ‘double-double’.

Marshalled by head coach, Olly Gawthorne, the u16s As and Bs both claimed victories in the Cup and Shield competitions to add to winning their respective league competitions. Hertford As had the week before been crowned winners of Division 1 in the Herts and Middlesex Junior League, a title they also won in 2022. The Bs won Division 6 to bounce back from relegation from Division 5 the season before.

Talking about the achievement, Olly said: “For one team to achieve a cup and league double is rare but for two teams from the same age group to do it must be a first. I’m hugely proud of all the boys every one of whom has shown phenomenal commitment to the club and to each other. It’s one thing to have talent, another to use it and these boys have.”

Both Hertford teams were up against Tring RFC and despite very nervy and close first halves, came through as comfortable winners.

Hertford A turned around at the halfway mark one score ahead, a penalty kicked by fly half Charlie Walters, but lost the lead soon after to a try from Tring. With pressure starting to mount, Hertford, led from the front row by Sid Stringer, began to play with more freedom, moving the ball at pace through the backs and from one such move came Hertford’s first try scored by Charlie Walters from a pass from second half substitute Ben Morrow.

A second followed shortly after with Ben Morrow this time the finisher. And with the score now 15-3, an edge-of-the-seat, tension filled finish to the game looked less likely. This was confirmed minutes later when Charlie Walters and Ben Morrow combined once again, a wonderful cross field kick from Charlie bounced kindly to allow Ben to score his second try of the day. A fourth try for Hertford, scored by number eight Eddie Alliott after dogged work from the forwards, completed a 29-5 victory for Hertford As.

The script followed a similar trajectory in the Shield game. The Bs dominated possession in the first half, going close with Deano Compton-Cook and Hagen Whittaker, but they fell behind to a try a few minutes before half time when frustration set in. The second half saw a different Hertford team emerge. Both props, Louis Compton and Deano Compton-Cook, punched holes in the defence and, after being camped on the Tring line, repeat offences saw Tring shown a yellow card, and down to 14. More pressure on the line saw Max Eccleston dot down under the posts and the fight back was under way. Soon after, some neat midfield interchanges saw Hagen Whitaker go over. The final flourish came as Hertford fielded a kick on their own 22 and then went the length of the field with Raphael John racing in from half way, making it 21 -7. The game finished with both sides receiving yellow cards and the score 21-12 after a late Tring try.

Across the two teams, Hertford played 36 players, many who have played for the club since the age of six. One of those is Tom Bishop, winger for the As, who reflected on what the achievement means: “Winning the Cup felt amazing but celebrating with the Bs took it to a completely different level. This is definitely the best day I’ve had in rugby”

Hertford U16 A Team Picture
BR: Tyler Winn, Tom Cresci, Bobby Blackford, Tom Rutter, Eddie Hunt, Josh Luke, James Hunter, Chris Van Der Ryst, Tom Parman, Matt Wright, Toby Grimberg
FR: Ben Morrow, Ollie Allen, Sid Stringer, Charlie Walters, Harry Gawthorne, Tom Bishop, Fraser Rawlins, Eddie Alliott
Coaches: Gerhard Van Der Ryst, Olly Gawthorne, Richard Hunter

Hertford U16 B Team Picture
BR: Frazer McCormack, Sam Donner, Luca Maranzana, Benji Coles, Will Collison, Ollie Cain, Luke Bremner, Aston Williams, Max Eccleston, Hagen Whittaker, Jenson Kimsey, Deano Compton-Cook, Sam Forbes
FR: Aaron Beyzade, Cody Roberts, Louis Compton, Sam Parry, Raphael John, Regan Grant
Coaches: Mark Bremner & Stephen Coles (not pictured)