False Dawn

Only joking readers !!!

Camelot arrived at Hitchin with one player determined to make his mark on the opposition (he did), the pavement and his face !!! What a day for "Chucky" !!!

The Camelot team went into their three matches at Hitchin as underdogs with the hosts having three teams, each with substitutes, to take on the two teams from Hemel Hempstead, neither of which had the luxury of any substitutes - No resting and no going off injured, time to man-up and get on with it. Sam the captain, led by example, excellent scrum halfing Sam, well done. Also, great to see Connor back, good to have you back in the team fella.

The first match was against the Hitchin side featuring what must be the biggest player in Under 10's rugby, and he certainly made a nuisance of himself with strong runs that saw the Camelot players literally bouncing off him, but some good low tacking reduced his effectiveness…Though he did score the first try of the game, well into the first-half. Hitchin were dominating possession, but Hemel defended sternly and equalised when Freddie broke through to bundle the ball over the line.

The second-half started with a quick try for the home side as they looked odds on favourites to go on and win the match; but Hemel fought hard, and started to spread the ball wider into space, and it paid dividends. Thomas got hold of the ball, feigned a pass and instead twisted through the defensive line for an equaliser. Hemel were now on top and looked like they were going to win it with the final play when Charlie found space and was heading for the try line, only for the referee to blow up for full-time because of an injured Hitchin player on the ground. Controversial to say the least !!!
Full-time: 2-2 Freddie & Thomas

Game 2 was very similar to the first in the sense that much of the first-half possession was in Camelot's defensive half, some great tackling by Freddie, James and Tommy, but Hitchin inevitably bundling the ball over to take the lead. It was another bruising encounter; at one stage Ollie came off the pitch for treatment, when asked what was wrong, he declared: "He kneed me in the b@$ls"! Not quite a kick up the backside, but it did the trick -On returning to the field Ollie scored the equalising try, driving the ball over the line.

Two quick tries before the break looked to put the game beyond Hemel's reach, trailing 1-3 at the interval. After the restart it was Ollie again who drove over to make it 2-3…only for Hitchin to break straight through to regain their 2 score advantage. Still reeling from the knock to his private areas, Ollie was in inspired mood once again driving for the line, enabling Freddie to to finish the score diving over for a score. And it was Freddie again who scored the equaliser, once he broke through down the wing, nobody was going to stop him from putting the ball down over the line.
Full-time: 4-4 Ollie 2 & Freddie 2

The third game saw Camelot take the lead for the first time on the day, Thomas driving over to make it 1-0, and moments later it was 2-0 when Freddie powered his way over the line. Hitchin pulled one back when a penalty try was awarded after a high tackle prevented what looked to be a likely score. The lead was increased again when Ben used brute force to drive his way through anyone that dared to get in his way, grounding the ball over the line to make it 3-1 at half-time.

A lapse in concentration after the break saw Hitchin level the score at 3-3 with two quick tries, and then they took the lead with a classic running on to the ball at pace move that gave the defenders no chance of stopping him. Credit to the team, heads did not drop, though frustrations showed too much at times, as they went on to record their third draw of the day when another powerful run by Ben got within inches of the try line, with Thomas on hand to finish off the move with a dive over the line.
Full-time: 4-4 Thomas 2, Freddie & Ben

Man of the match Tommy, what a performance fella, great tackle !! Ladies watch out !!

Game 1
Les's Lion's lined up to face Hitchin for their first game unsure what to expect; they soon realised that their opponent's were ready for a physical contest. With the opposition running in straight lines our defense held tight but Hitchin's quick rucking started to push us backwards and it wasn't long before we conceded a try. The restart presented us with an opportunity to play a passing game and gain territory but with players in isolation we suffered from a turnover ball. With some fantastic ball ripping we soon had possession again and it wasn't long before we scored.
The second half saw some fantastic running from both sides and just as impressive tackling but Hitchin started to win more territory and inevitably clocked up more points.

Hitchin 5 Camelot 2, Edward 2

Game 2
Again some fantastic commitment with Les's Lion's driving over the line twice to gain valuable points. Although Hitchin got the better of us we kept going to make several breaks that were rewarded with two more tries.

Hitchin 5. Camelot 3, Conor 2 Edward

Game 3
Unfortunately this was a miss match and the game was stopped due to the score.
Hitchin 6. Camelot 0

Man of the match Caolan

Some fantastic games of rugby so far, very competitive, with everyone contributing and enjoying rugby.

Season so far Won 8, Drew 6 and Lost 7. Tries for 66, against 58.