At last first league game of the season.....

The success of the fire works was followed by a cold freezing November morning greeting the team.

A small contingency of parents turned up early to clear up the debris from the field (thanks to Sue, Vikki, Simon and Shaun), luckily with support from another age group the pitch was cleared in time for the warm up, also thanks to the unknown dad, might have been from Under 14s, for setting up the post/flags as it was getting tight on time.

Following a change of shirts to white old school shirts, which was greeted by much distain by the team who complained they were heavy (if it rained that would have made them heavy....they don't know how lucky they are) and big, the sun had warmed the pitch ready for kick off.

This was the first test of the team and following some heavy wins confidence was high.

There was a number of changes with some players unavailable, however with the strength in depth Camelot were able to field a strong team.

The first half was a very much one sided affair with Camelot camped deep into Bishop Stortford half with plenty of scoring opportunity, however due to some hard defence and some less than great decision making it took some time for the lads to break through and score a try, however luckily Camelot's defence was strong and dealt with the limited opportunities for Bishop Stortford.

Deep into the first half time two injuries resulted in Sam, groin injury, and Dawid, hand injury, having to be replaced. Replacements were brought on but still the team was dominant but worryingly at half time only one try up.

The second half started with Camelot again remaining encamped in the Bishop Stortford half, this time a quick second try was the reward.

Due to an injury on the '2nd team' pitch and an arrival of an Ambulance the game had to be moved to the up/down pitch.

Bishop Stortford coach decided that as the slope is so severe it would be fair for both sides that the second half should be played in two half's so teams had equal advantage of the slope. Its great to see that Rugby has this great sporting ethos I'm certain that if this was football the same honesty would not have been shown. Thank you Bishop Stortford.

Hemel started playing up the hill and at last started playing with the shape and style that has rewarded them in early games. The forwards took it on with a strong display in the lineouts, scrums and loose play to make the yards and give possession to the backs and suddenly the backs started running from deep and making yards....and scoring.

Bishop Stortford then used the slope to peg Hemel onto their try line, time and time again they flew towards the try line and time and time again Hemel hit them on the gain line. Following nearly 5 minutes of strong defence Hemel broke out and cleared the lines for a well earned break.

The teams turned round and Hemel pushed home their dominance with late tries which left them with a comfortable win (in the end)

Bishop Stortford played a hard game and can be disappointed in the result but they played with pride and determination. Although there were two yellow cards issued in the game neither was for deliberate foul play but as a result of both teams playing hard.

All players got and deserved game time and with a 32-0 result the season is looking to be good.

However it is worth noting a couple of comments (which I think are 100% correct)

A Bishop Stortford parent....'good thing Camelot didn't pass the ball and tried to run it instead.....it would have been more than 30-0 at half time'

Camelot parent....'they didn't play the way they have been playing all season'

There are some positive points, great defence, solid work by the forwards who kept the team going forward however on a negative point...decision making and communication.

There was far too much sideways running, this ran team mates out of the game and allowed Bishop Stortford to cover the overlaps. Frustration for our wingers, who were screaming for a pass, they had multiple overlaps but the ball was not passed early, if at all, until the overlap had been closed down at which time a poor pass was given.

There were times when forwards are in the passing lane, this forces the scrum half to make a poor pass to the backs.

Run from deep...too many times we lined up flat to receive the ball which meant that if the ball was passed the defence were hitting man/ball at the same time.

Remember SCAN - OPTIONS - COMMUNICATE.

Low numbers of Defenders - the defending team is narrow so attack out wide
Organised defence - well organised defence, attack through the middle to suck in defence until there is a low number of defenders.

Overall a great result with hard work and great team spirit this could be their (correct spelling Sams English test) season.

Ohhhh and Ugar got a birthday present from Big Matts mum....Camelot shorts and socks...he now looks like a rugby player, might let him stay in the forwards