COUNTIES 2 SOUTH SHIELD

Vigo eased their way into the semi-finals of this new end-of-season competition with a hard-fought win over Hertfordshire outfit, Royston RFC. Both sides were without key players, so aesthetically it was hardly a thing of beauty but, there again, Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu never won Miss World, so who am I to complain?
Royston play in a particularly pleasant part of Hertfordshire, their pitch in a natural bowl, seemingly in the middle of a golf course. The ground was, perhaps, surprisingly firm, but Vigo seemed to rather disposed to use their big runners – Jake French, Liam Wiltshire and Phil Sewell and , of course, the influential Ben Moorhouse to bang it up the middle in the opening stages. This tactic appeared to pay off when they took the lead after a couple of minutes. Vigo had linked up well, moving the ball between forwards and backs. Oliver McSweeney-Atkins, playing on the wing, managed to control a poor pass with some excellent sleight of hand and fed Luke Henderson who crashed over in the corner.
Royston shook off this early disappointment and came back at their visitors, but some big tackles by Tony Whitehead and James Clemmence discouraged any thoughts of running through the middle, although the home right wing Dominic Merrill looked capable of creating something, although his early duties seemed to be to smash anyone who had the temerity of trying to run through his station. Vigo kept trying to put together their own game but a succession of either poor passes or poor handling meant that their rhythm remained rather atonal. But they did still manage to piece together a good move to extend their lead. Moorhouse, then Sewellipola,then Wiltshire all drove forward, keeping the ball alive before Clemmence drove over powerfully to score. Whitehead converted.
Again Royston fought hard to get back into the game, although their handling was less than secure, either under the weight of Vigo’s tackling or snatching at the pass. Number 8, Alex Howarth attempted to force his way through Vigo’s ranks but was invariably stopped before he did too much damage. Scrum half Luke Saltmarsh, who had a great game, drove Vigo back deep with a superb clearing kick,and Royston now had a platform upon which to build a sustained attack. Vigo initially held but Royston were not to be denied and rolled forward before the ball reached replacement Max Finney who thundered over, Saltmarsh converted with ease.
Vigo, momentarily set back, needed to reply and reply quickly before the Crows (Royston’s nickname, apparently) were to gain inspiration from their score. And they did, but not without some help from their generous hosts. From the kick off, A huge knock on gave Vigo the put in at the scrum. Ball won, Vigo moved the ball along the line, were stopped but recycled the ball quickly and moved it back the other way where Jake French was waiting patiently on the wing. Revelling in his first season as Captain and discovering a rich scoring form, French drove over in the corner.
Now, Vigo were beginning to find their groove, moving the ball sweetly and recycling efficiently, forcing Royston to retreat, albeit reluctantly, Merrill continuing to impress with his defence. However, Whitehead broke and although he nearly had his head removed by a flailing arm, the referee who had a good game, played an excellent advantage and Whitehead managed to get the ball to Liam Wiltshire who thundered over.
Royston again refused to lie down quietly and again attacked Vigo, urged on by their nippy scrum half, Saltmarsh. A simple but effective three-quarter move saw the ball reach Merrill who, relieved of his defensive duties, proved to be no slouch at offence and ran round Vigo’s defence to score. Saltmarsh added the extras. And that was the last action of the first half. Royston had scored in that psychologically all important time on the stroke of half time.
Luckily, if Liam Wiltshire reads , he doesn’t read psychology books and promptly scored in the first minute of the second half to lay that particular adage to rest. Royston had failed to clear the ball properly from the kick off to the second half, Vigo counter attacked, Whitehead hit a wonderful line and found Wiltshire on his shoulder. The second row, probably still not back to full fitness after knee problems but had been enjoying a terrific match, stormed over for his second try, Whitehead converting for a significant lead.
Now, Vigo began to play with more fluency, Nathan Covill beginning to grow in confidence, pat Norton spreading the points of attack, and now Vigo’s scrum began to impose themselves. Will James was giving his opposite number a torrid time, Royston’s scrum began to disintegrate and Vigo were winning a number of penalties from their growing dominance at the set piece, allowing Whitehead to boot them into dangerous positions. Max Gregory, who had arrived from the bench, scored with possibly his first touch of the ball. Royston had won a scrum but under such pressure, they loosely kicked the ball away to Kieran Hall, who made yards, before being stopped. Vigo recycled the ball for Gregory to score, converted by Whitehead.
Royston were not done but were being hit all round the park with some massive tackles, Henderson and Clemmence prominent. Again, Vigo were moving the ball well, recycling and Royton were pulled all round the pitch. Howarth was doing his best to inspire his team, but was simply overwhelmed by the Vigo pressure. Again, Vigo turned the ball over and when it reached Whitehead he spied a vast open space behind Royston’s defence and cross kicked into that space with back spin. Ollie McSweeney-Atkins’ eyes lit up as he chased onto the ball, the line undefended. But when the ball landed it shot off at 90 degrees straight into the arms of Luke Henderson who strolled over unopposed, much to Ollie’s chagrin. Whitehead chipped over the conversion.
That score virtually sealed the match, but Royston were not finished. Not having had a great season, they poured their frustrations into one last defiant effort, and came hard at Vigo. The Villagers thought that the game was over, and got a tad sloppy, in the face of a ferocious onslaught. They even took advantage of Will James off having a rest, they destroyed a Vigo scrum , much to the delight of their loyal band of supporters, he who had had little to crow about – see what I did there? The home side kept coming and when the ball reached Merrill on the right wing, he scorched over for a thoroughly deserved try. Saltmarsh converted with a superb kick, seemingly from the edge of the fourteenth fairway. As if Vigo were a tad affronted by the score, they re-gathered their wits and, when the whistle went to end the game, Vigo had been back on the attack, a small tiff indicating Royston’s frustrations but it had been a match played in good spirit by both sides, well refereed by a quiet but firm referee, Tom Jackman.

Scorers: Royston: tries: Finney (25’), Merrill (40’, 75’). Cons: Saltmarsh (3).
Vigo : tries: Henderson (3’, 69’), Clemmence (15’), French (29’), Wiltshire (35’, 41’), Gregory (52’). Cons: Whitehead (4).
Man of the Match: Luke Henderson. As well as scoring two tries, Henderson’s tackling was quite ferocious. Sewell, Wiltshire and Covill all gained honourable mentions. For Royston, right winger Dominic Merrill and number 8, Alex Howarth were excellent.

Vigo Team: H.Pattison; O.McSweeney-Atkins, T.Whitehead, J.Clemmence, K.Hall; P.Norton, N.Covill; W.James (rep: P.Sewell 69’), D.Norton, P.Sewell (rep: M.Gregory 50’); J.French (rep: B.Howe 52’), L.Wiltshire (rep: J.French 62’); L.Stringer, L.Henderson; B.Moorhouse.

Referee: Tom Jackman (Herts SRFUR)

MOG’s View: Whatever reservations I may have about the idea of this end of season contest – the travelling, the players missing after a long hard League season – there is no doubt about the interest of playing other teams rather than all the usual suspects in Kent. Both last week’s opponents – Cheltenham Saracens and ‘The Crows’, this week, have been thoroughly decent chaps. It was a long journey but it could have been worse – Helston are still in the competition. Next week, Vigo are playing against old friends, Hastings & Bexhill, who will, no doubt be thirsting for revenge after two defeats in the League season, for a place in the Final to be played at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium.

Authors Note: Royston’s nickname ’The Crows’ alludes to the town of Royston’s symbol – the Royston Crow. At one time the hooded crow (corvus cornix) was so common in the district that it became known as the Royston Crow. Cromwell's Roundheads derided the inhabitants after a brawl with local Cavalier sympathisers and called them Crows. The name has remained. So there you go. Don’t say we don’t we try to educate you.