BackSun 03 Apr 2022
London Irish
U15
12
37
Top of the mornin to ya
Lucy Hunter
By Nick 'the Scoop' Bishop
A fiver for a full English. And served on a big plate! London Irish is a cut above most rugby clubs; a shiny clubhouse, car parks which don’t look like they’ve been mortared and pitches good enough to play cricket on.
Our rugby, in the opening minutes, matched the surroundings. An early penalty and tap and go by Josh, playing at scrum half, saw the ball moved wide with Tom P, playing on the right wing, touching down. Shortly after came another try, this time from the opposite wing: Matthew moving it to Tom B to round his man and beat the cover. And from the kick off came another. This time, Tom R, ghosting through the tackles to score in the corner.
At 15-0 and only ten minutes played, your correspondent confidently predicted the game wouldn’t go the 60 minutes. It did and it needed to.
The remainder of the first half is best described as a mess. Dropped passes, passes flung to ghosts, kicks to who knows who and a bundle of yellow cards. Half time came with Hertford leading 15-0 but with only 13 players on the pitch.
The second half welcomed back Tom C but otherwise began as the first ended, with Hertford playing against their strengths. After so many mistakes, it was only a matter of time before Hertford were made to pay: a dropped pass led to a hack ahead and Irish scoring under the posts. 15-7. Then a move down the right resulted in a second try for Irish. 15-12. And then came the turning point.
Another strong move by Irish down the right looked like it might finish with a try in the corner, but a try saving tackle from Ernie, Tom P or Tom R (sorry, I had my head in my hands and didn’t pick out the player) stopped Irish’s momentum. The scare prompted a response, and it was worth the wait.
The forwards now took control and blew Irish away. Ollie, Chris and Lewis bested Irish’s front row. James, H, Lewis, Eddie and Sid continuously punched big holes in Irish’s defence. And with Bobby, now back at scrum half, getting fast ball, the tries came in quick succession. First Matthew, then Josh, Sid and H. And with a conversion slotted off the final try, the score ended as 37-12 to Hertford.
Ultimately a comfortable win, with brilliant rugby to open and close the game. And with beers in the sun courtesy of Bobby and Tom C, our yellow card villains, a brilliant way to spend a Sunday.
Our rugby, in the opening minutes, matched the surroundings. An early penalty and tap and go by Josh, playing at scrum half, saw the ball moved wide with Tom P, playing on the right wing, touching down. Shortly after came another try, this time from the opposite wing: Matthew moving it to Tom B to round his man and beat the cover. And from the kick off came another. This time, Tom R, ghosting through the tackles to score in the corner.
At 15-0 and only ten minutes played, your correspondent confidently predicted the game wouldn’t go the 60 minutes. It did and it needed to.
The remainder of the first half is best described as a mess. Dropped passes, passes flung to ghosts, kicks to who knows who and a bundle of yellow cards. Half time came with Hertford leading 15-0 but with only 13 players on the pitch.
The second half welcomed back Tom C but otherwise began as the first ended, with Hertford playing against their strengths. After so many mistakes, it was only a matter of time before Hertford were made to pay: a dropped pass led to a hack ahead and Irish scoring under the posts. 15-7. Then a move down the right resulted in a second try for Irish. 15-12. And then came the turning point.
Another strong move by Irish down the right looked like it might finish with a try in the corner, but a try saving tackle from Ernie, Tom P or Tom R (sorry, I had my head in my hands and didn’t pick out the player) stopped Irish’s momentum. The scare prompted a response, and it was worth the wait.
The forwards now took control and blew Irish away. Ollie, Chris and Lewis bested Irish’s front row. James, H, Lewis, Eddie and Sid continuously punched big holes in Irish’s defence. And with Bobby, now back at scrum half, getting fast ball, the tries came in quick succession. First Matthew, then Josh, Sid and H. And with a conversion slotted off the final try, the score ended as 37-12 to Hertford.
Ultimately a comfortable win, with brilliant rugby to open and close the game. And with beers in the sun courtesy of Bobby and Tom C, our yellow card villains, a brilliant way to spend a Sunday.
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