We had our final home fixture of the morning on Sunday as the Jaguars played host to Tabard. The ground was hard, weather good and ideal for free flowing rugby…… we played three matches, winning two, drawing one and in the last game we played 11 a side and incorporated a fullback and extra centre so all the players could have a good run out.
Match reports below – thanks Jono
Hitchin Jaguars v Tabard Won 25-5
Having put the County Festival behind them The Jags and a smattering of Cougars gathered at King Georges what for some, would be the last game of the season. The conditions were perfect although the ground was more reminiscent of a late May. Andy was keen to get the ball through the hands and had marked out a very generous pitch which would lend itself to some good fast flowing rugby. The first few exchanges were a close affair with Tabard running some good lines. As usual the Jags defence was good and was lent a hand by some fierce tackling by Connor, Sam B and Max. The forwards of Rory, Dylan and Felix scrumaged well as Tabard found themselves going backwards on a number of occasions. Rory and Dylan were very lively around the park hitting breakdowns first and with purpose invariably being first to the breakdown. Felix was solid and added some useful power in the engine room. Dylan was also on fire in the line outs catching cleanly and getting the team going forward and it was from a line out that the Jags opened up their account with a fine try from Connor. Connor was involved in the second as he threw a great long pass to Harry H on the wing. He stepped and weaved to the line to score the second. Oskar who had not played for a few weeks was strong in the centre and went looking for action on a number of occasions. Max as always was rock solid on the wing tackling well. He also tidied up loose ball and was always on hand to take the Jags out of trouble. Sam B as usual “smash anything that moves” in the centre and always made yards with ball in hand. Freddie distributed well and had a few darts himself and always caused Tabard defence some problems. The Jags changed round 2 scores to the good at half time. Rory and Felix made way for Stevie and Harry G with Laurence on for Max on the wing. The second half started at a fierce pace with Connor and Sam B linking well and Dylan working exceptionally hard to win the ball in the loose. Harry G and Stevie kept the pressure on Tabard with some very good forward play which gave Freddie a good platform to get some ball to the backs. Dylan was rewarded as he caught and drove from a well delivered lineout throw to score a deserved try. Connor was his usual industrious self and his hard work paid off as he outpaced the covering defence to score. Tabard replied with a well-deserved try of their own however that was immediately cancelled out by a fantastic individual try by Harry H from the restart. Laurence keen to build on his successes of the last few weeks continued to work hard in defence and had a couple of good runs down the wing. The game finished 25-5 win for the Jags.
Hitchin Jaguars v Tabard Drew 5-5
The second game was much more of a battle of attrition. Rory, Dylan and Felix started the game and got sucked into a forward battle with Tabard and at one point all but 3 players were involved in a maul. This meant that the first half did not meet up with Andy’s expectation of some quick ball and running rugby. Kai was strong at scrum half, tidying up the loose ball and putting in some good defensive work. The set piece remained very solid and it was from a set piece that the ball was moved to the centre for Connor to score. The Jags continued to defend well however despite some promising attacks the final pass never quite seemed to go to hand. Following a brief talk at half time from Andy and Rob the Jags did try to get the ball away a little quicker form the breakdown . Harry G and Stevie responded winning some quick ruck ball allowing Kia to get the backs started. The Jags did start to put some width on the game however Tabard did score a try as Sam H tried to get Harry into space with an ambitious pass which was intercepted. Harry H very nearly scored in the dying seconds however he was stopped short meters from the line. The game finished an honourable draw at 1 try each. At the changeover, Mark the Tabard coach and ref for the second game came over and complemented the players on their rucking and their discipline at the breakdown which was something that the all the players had worked hard at over the season.
Hitchin Jaguars v Tabard Won 30-0
As both teams had a large squad for the morning the coaches agreed to play the last game 11 a side but still play with 3 in the forwards. Andy’s formation was interesting playing with 3 centres and a full back! This had all the hall marks of being a bit of a mash up however it did prove to be a good game to watch. Rory was particularly feisty hitting hard and running strongly with the ball in hand. The forwards again gained the upper hand which allowed Freddie to have a few snipes. Connor continued to terrorise the defence with his pace and directions of attack with Sam B never far away ready to take a pass. Sam B was rewarded as he picked up a loose ball and scored an excellent try .Connor scored a similar try to close out the half. Reinforcements came on and the tries kept coming. Kai opened up his account from close range following some excellent forward work by Harry G supported by Stevie. Connor scored a second of the half following some excellent work by Sam H to win the ball and get to ground . Laurence promptly cleared out the remaining Tabard players which enabled Connor to pounce on the ball, step the remaining defence and score. The best try of the day came from a well worked backline move which saw passes from Kai Sam B Connor and eventually Harry H to score. Finally what Andy had been waiting for all morning!! Oskar definitely showed his “forward potential” with a good drive to crash over the line to score the 6th.
Tries: Connor (5), Kai, Sam B, Harry H (3), Dylan and Oskar
Overall, a great way for the Jaguars to finish the season with a strong performance against Tabard and it was good to see the players bounce back after the slight disappointment of the festival last week. In the first and third games we played some good rugby, moved the ball away from contact, played at pace, scored some good tries and won both games convincingly. In the second game we struggled to get any momentum and ended up playing a slow, physical, mauling game which suited Tabard and nullified our strengths. However, to come away from the morning unbeaten was a great effort and thoroughly deserved for the commitment and work put in. Tabard have improved significantly since we last played them, they were a lot more aggressive in the contact areas and had some strong runners, but we matched them physically and when we did move the ball we were able to score some good tries. Well done to all the players.
Player of the Week
The ‘Player of the Week’ award went to Dylan Crofton who had an excellent morning. Dylan had plenty of game time on Sunday and played really well in the forwards, he scrummaged well, contested the contact areas strongly in particular his counter rucking and his work rate during the games was first class. I was particularly pleased to see him get the ball in his hand and take the game to the opposition with some strong runs and his lineout work was very good. He won good clean ball for us, nicked a few opposition throws and also scored a great try from a lineout close to their line. Well done Dylan, a very good performance – enjoy South Africa!!!!
Team Felix Elliot, Rory Fookes, Dylan Crofton, Harry Gray, Harry Hughes, Max Ward, Stephen Shaw, Freddy Hindson, Kai Prpa, Connor Dudley, Daniel Hill, Oskar Bhowmick, Samuel King, Laurence Hidle, Samuel Humphrey
Scores 
League Tables