Sat 3 Feb 2024
Saturday 3rd February 2024
RFU League Counties 2 Herts/Middlesex
Hendon RFC 25-10 Barnet Elizabethans RFC
A rejuvenated Hendon claim first win of the new year.
Hendon coach, Will Wheeler expressed his delight with the win adding “my advice to the squad before kick-off was to enjoy the game and with new recruits in the Hendon XV, let’s see the outcome!”
The Coach’s advice paid off; from kick-off, up the slope and into the wind, the ball was run out of defence and not kicked with at least 10 players playing the ball with carries into the Barnet half but no scores. However, it was Barnet, playing down the Hendon slope, on the scoreboard midway through the first period as a kick over the attacking Hendon allowed their right winger to collect on the Hendon 10 metre line to score downhill in the corner for a 0-5 lead.
Play was even between the teams as knock-ons and offsides were all too frequent until the 39th minute when Hendon scrum half Rich Roberts kicked a midfield penalty to the Barnet 22; from the line-out a centre carry by Chris Kiyingi, then Cian Hynes to Billy Yegon on the wing, tackled on the line for Roberts to collect and dive through to score with the halftime whistle closing play at 5-5.
Into the 2nd half, Hendon now had the slope and slight wind advantage. It was only five minutes into the half that a Hendon penalty kick from new fly half Hamish Thorpe put the home outfit into the notorious bottom left hand corner. From the lineout No8 James Juille carried to the Barnet try line with 2nd row Hadi Al-Bassam supporting to score and Hendon were 10-5 ahead.
Barnet quickly responded and Hendon were forced back to their own line to defend resulting in a Hendon player being sidelined for the rest of the match with a red card offence. However, the Hendon defence withstood the continual Barnet charges with Thorpe clearing with a long kick to halfway; from the resulting not straight line-out, the Hendon scrum allowed the Hendon backs to penetrate the Barnet defence with Hynes on an individual run to Roberts on the line to claim his second try 15-5.
Hendon were now dominant with Thorpe orchestrating play with another long kick poorly fielded by the Barnet defence for Hendon full back Thomas Sanzier to charge through to collect and score a Roberts' converted try on the half hour for the fourth try bonus point at 22-5.
Barnet were still in the game as another forward powered move took them to the Hendon try-line to score out wide closing the score-line to 22-10 after 35 minutes. Then with a minute left on the clock, Barnet were penalised out wide on their 10 metre line and Hynes was successful with the long penalty on final play to convert and Hendon were victorious at 25-10.
Commented Nick Andrews, Hendon Captain after the game “The boys really put in a full shift this afternoon, I was pleased we had the support of both our new and returning players and let’s hope training together at StoneX will keep us in the reckoning for the six League matches remaining”.
This Saturday Hendon host St. Albans at Copthall in the rearranged League encounter with Kick Off at 2.30 pm.
