Hitchin U13 ‘B’ took to the field on Sunday for their second league fixture of the season against Fullerians U13 ’B’ in a re-arranged fixture that had been postponed from the start of the season.
Hitchin were looking to this match to gain some kind of improvement from their defeat at Bedford the previous week but soon made things hard for themselves by conceding a try almost from the kick off, as a breakaway by Fullerians took advantage of Hitchin failing to line up quickly, allowing their fullback to run over into the corner and put his team 0-5 up.
Unfortunately conceding early tries has become something of a habit for the ‘B’s this season as this was the third game in which this has happened and almost straight after the restart a similar breakaway coupled with some lacklustre Hitchin tackling almost allowed the same player in again. Fortunately for the home side Will M was able to come to the rescue with a good saving tackle. However Hitchin failed to see the warning signs and soon after this scare Fullerians managed to break through yet more weak Hitchin tackling to touch down beneath the posts and extend the lead to 0-12.
Having conceded two quick tries Hitchin finally began to take part in the contest and a period of good play by the hosts saw Jamie H make a good tackle on the big Fullerians prop and then runs by Freddy and Sam J piled pressure on the visitors within their 22 yard line. Some great tackling was finally starting to be seen by Hitchin with OJ reacting well to pounce quickly on an opponent from a scrum. A good run by Nathan then saw Sam J collect the ball and signalled a furious spell of great forward play as Sam, Freddy, OJ and finally Dan H saw the ball over to reduce the deficit to 5-12.
A great run by Will J forced Fullerians onto the back foot immediately from the restart but despite kicking clear Will M returned the ball back into their half as Hitchin continued to press with strong runs by Nathan and Tom but unfortunately Hitchin were unable to penetrate the Fullerians defence. However as Hitchin pushed forward they again allowed the visitors to break on a number of occasions with their fullback being the main threat once more. Excellent tackles by Jordan and Jamie however ensured that there were no further points scored as the first half drew to an end. H-T 5-12.
The second half began with George (V) replacing Tom who had to retire from the game with a leg injury. A good collect and run by Will M then saw Hitchin pressed forward in search of a second try with good runs by Aaron, Will J and Nathan adding to the sterling work that the forwards were still putting in. Unfortunately despite this Hitchin were still proving to be susceptible to breaking runs as a series of missed tackles once again allowed Fullerians to score in the corner and restore their advantage by moving the score on to 5-17.
From the restart Hitchin re-organised slightly as Dion came on for Charlie and they began to apply pressure to the Fullerians defence in search of a reply. This proved to be successful as a couple of penalties were won in quick succession and were rewarded as a good piece of quick thinking by George (V) gave the ball to Freddy who got over to win the try and bring the score back to 12-17 following a successful conversion by George (V).
Hitchin now sensed that they were well placed to get another try and a long period of play began with Hitchin setting up camp in the Fullerians half. This began when Dion went on a storming run from the restart and was quickly followed by Will J making good ground and winning a penalty. George (V) and Freddy then took turns in trying to break through the visitors defence but were held up and a series of scrums deep in the opponents then half saw Jordan, Freddy and Dion try to get the breakthrough. By now Hitchin were getting desperately close to that elusive equalising try with George (V) and Sam J coming ever closer but being held up. During this period it seemed as though OJ did manage to get the ball down but unfortunately the referee was unsighted and unable to see the touchdown clearly and so the try was not given.
Hitchin continued to pile on the pressure as Fullerians managed to withstand the onslaught (so much so that every time the ball was held up they cheered!) and eventually they managed to break clear before being stopped by a crunching tackle by Jordan. The final passage of play then saw George pass the ball out to Aaron but a final desperate tackle by Fullerians saw him pushed out of play to end the match and ensure that the visitors held on for a hard fought victory. F-T 12-17
Yet another slow start by Hitchin ‘B’ was sadly the undoing of the team today despite a good overall performance over the course of the whole match. This sadly was not quite enough to win the game despite having every chance in the second half, especially as opportunities to play the ball out wide to the backs from the scrum were largely missed and thus allowed Fullerians to hold on for the win. However that said the team fought really hard and this is reflected in the margin of defeat which ensured that a bonus point was gained despite the defeat which leaves Hitchin U13’B’ handily placed at third in the table going into next weeks fixture away to Hackney Bulls.
Man Of The Match: Sam R
Team Charlie Body, Toby Smith, Sam Jenkins, Daniel Holland, Freddie Maxwell, Oliver Sinclair, Taylor Moon, Jordan Mensah, Sam Ramsay, Thomas Bourne, Aaron Maxwell, William Johnson, Nathan Murphy, Jamie Steadman, William Mercer
Subs George Eaton, George Vivian, Huw Dearn, Andrew Fowler, Dion Manyau, Jamie Hamilton
Scores T: Freddie Maxwell (1), Daniel Holland (1)
C: George Vivian (1)
League Tables