Sat 22 Jan 2022
Herts Middlesex Merit Table 3
Hendon 2nds 24 - 42 Hertford 4ths
Hendon started very brightly dominating a large chunk of possession which eventually led to a well worked try involving forwards and backs with a nicely timed pass to put Marco through a gap to score under the posts with Fazlan Faiz making the conversion.
Unfortunately this ended Hendon’s dominance with Hertford coming straight back from the kick off using their heavier pack to turn the ball over and then score out wide 7-5. Again after a turnover ball and two quick passes Hertford broke away to score out wide 7-10.
Hertford forwards were really starting to dominate at the breakdown and scrums and all this resulted in another push upfield and despite desperate defence from Hendon Hertford scored under the posts 7-17.
A rare sortie into the Hertford half led to a penalty which was kicked into the 22 and from the resulting lineout and a couple of phases saw captain Aidan 'Soppy' Power crash over the line to score bringing it back to 12 points to 17.
After a series of penalties from the scrum Hertford moved into Hendon’s 22 and scored a well worked try as half time approached. 12-24
With a tiring Hendon now playing uphill Hertford pressed home their weight advantage and made Hendon defend for long periods scoring twice in the process 12-34.
However, indiscipline from Hertford gave Hendon a descent field position from which they made the most of their rare opportunity with Marco managing to break a tackle and score under the posts Faz converted for the extra 2 points and the score moved to 19-34
However, Hertford again came back strong again scoring another try and just keeping Hendon far enough away so as not to pressure them. A final flurry saw Harry Charles score out wide to give Hendon a bonus point on his return to the team. Hertford finished off the game with the last kick for a penalty taking the final score to 24 points to 42 points.
Hendon's captain commented "A hard fought game today but I am gutted we couldn’t find a way to combat the weight of Hertford forwards. Some great stuff was played by the boys at times today and It’s fantastic to see Harry back in a Hendon shirt and welcome to Adam from Middlesex Uni who played his first game for Hendon."
Mike Head the 2nd team coach said: "That was a really tough game today against a big well organised Hertford team. We just got overpowered at times which restricted our backs from making the impact I had hoped they would have made. A really tough day for the forwards who battled heroically all game right up until the end. It would be great to see a lot more of the lads at training so that we can iron out any problems and build on the good bits from the game. We take away a try bonus point so not all doom and gloom."
