Hedgehogs victorious again ! The game at Chesham last season was definitely one to forget but this was a different story with 4 unanswered tries and one of the best performances of the season so far . The team was a a good mix of the old with just a sprinkling of youth with most players being well over the 30 year mark and only Elliot Gibson and James Tilley being under 20. The game started with lots of rucks being set up by the Hedgehogs and furious defence from Chesham keeping us out until Gibson the younger saw a gap where no one else could and scored a magnificent try. The big feature of this game that I will remember is the fact that Chesham could not make inroads through our defence throughout the whole game and only made it over our line after a quickly taken tap penalty which resulted in a disallowed try due to several of their players being off side. Every one of the Hedgehogs made telling tackles time after time and as the game wore on it became obvious that it was only a matter of time until we would start to pull away on the scoreboard. After 60 minutes the score was unbelievably still 5-0 but then after a strong surge to the Chesham line by Gibson senior the Hedgehogs captain ripped the ball from his hands as he was held up a yard out and and finished the move off with a drive over the line to touch down under a pile of defenders ! This try was followed by the rare sight of Barry James breaking into space 25 meters out and after a frantic look around for support realised there was none and that he would have to finish the move him self which he duly did and was a very happy man to score a try on his 50th birthday ! With only 15 minutes to go we had the game in the bag but the Captain informed the team that a whitewash was required and that he would not be happy otherwise. On came Matt Ruffel who was recovering from Man Flu who within a minute of getting on the pitch started and then finished a brilliant move which resulted in the final try without him breaking into a sweat ! Lots of highlights in this game one of which was the enthusiasm and energy of Nathan Turner who is new to the club and looks like a real find. Chris Pike made one of his all too infrequent appearances and played a blinder,Dave Turner has to be mentioned for giving his all in the scrums despite being up against a bigger more experienced prop but never letting the obvious advantage affect our possession in the scrum. Gary Wearing had another solid game and is becoming an accomplished lineout jumper with Rob Pankhurst giving us the alternative choice in the middle and the ever dependable Gibson senior at the tail . Man of the match had to be Barry James after some lovely kicks down the line and scoring that try on his 50th birthday ! At the what turned out to be the final line out of the game the only Hedgehog who didnt know it was the last play was Steve Shaw who consequently blasted up the wing to fly hack Gibson Juniors delicate chip to the touchline with the whole team screaming NO STEVE ! Dick of the day without a doubt, but fortunately for him the opposition made a hash of his gift of possession and the game finished with us laughing our heads off at Steve ! A good gritty performance by all concerned and a real pointer to how strong this team will be this season with several "Old heads" to return from injury in the next few weeks making selection a real quandry !
Team Stephen Ward, Gary Hawtin, Dave Turner, Christopher Pike, Rob Pankhurst, Mark Gibson, Gary Wearing, Simon Goodlad, Elliott Gibson, James Tilley, Steve Shaw, Simeon Green, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Nathan Tyler
Subs Barry James, Matt Ruffell
Scores T: Gary Hawtin (1), Elliott Gibson (1), Barry James (1), Matt Ruffell (1)
Player(s) of Match 1. Barry James, 2. Mark Gibson
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