Ruislip visited Welwyn for a mid-table clash this weekend with one point separating them in the league. The anticipated rain was not as bad as expected but there was a strong cross wind that made for a difficult kicking game. The first few minutes saw Ruislip quickly out of the blocks and a few minutes into the game they secured a penalty just inside the Welwyn 22. The kick to touch gave them a lineout close to the Welwyn line which Welwyn defended well, but eventually Ruislip pushed through for a score which was converted by Ruislip to give them a 0-7 lead.

From the kick off an attempted kick to touch by Ruislip got caught by the wind and was too long. Welwyn secured the ball and pushed Ruislip back into their 22 however, Ruislip recovered the ball and a kick forward was fumbled by Welwyn. A Welwyn penalty from the resulting scrum was the first indication of the dominance that Welwyn would have in this area. However, the kick to touch was blown back in field and Ruislip turned it into a strong attack. Ruislip forwards attacked but gave away a penalty at the critical point. Welwyn cleared but then fumbled the ball for Ruislip to kick through. More forward attacking play for Ruislip as they scrambled the ball back from their scrum and eventually won a penalty in front of the posts which was converted to move the score to 0-10.

Play continued in the middle of the field with both teams finding it difficult in the wind. Welwyn scrum dominance was really starting to show now and they took a scrum against the head pushing the Ruislip team back. The ball was passed quickly to Brendon Marume who chipped over the last defender and chased the ball to touch down for a Welwyn score. Jake Riley converted, and Welwyn were 7-10 down. The restart was knocked forward and Welwyn took advantage of another scrum, a lovely pass from Tom Laing put Tom Hamer through a gap in the Ruislip line leaving a two on one with the pass going to Jake Riley to score. Marume converted and Welwyn took the lead. Riley was forced to leave the pitch with an injured ankle and so Welwyn had to reshuffle their backs with Chris Kemp coming on at scrum half for his second match after a long spell out with injury.

However, Ruislip fought back and pressurised the Welwyn forwards in the loose. They eventually won a penalty that was kicked into the corner. From the resultant lineout the ball eventually got to Ruislip’s centre who crashed over and was initially held up, but the referee allowed time for him to reposition and awarded a try right under the posts. The conversion put Ruislip back in the lead. This lead would increase when Welwyn gave away a scrum for a knock on in the corner of their 22. The scrum was dominated by Welwyn and there is a strong argument that there should have been a penalty as the Ruislip scrum broke up but the referee allowed play to continue and from the loose ball they managed to break through and score, crashing over from close range. With the conversion Ruislip turned around at half time leading 12-24.

The second half saw Kemp masterminding a controlled comeback by Welwyn with more use of the centres to crash through a tiring Ruislip team. Welwyn disrupted Ruislip well and the game was being played in the Ruislip half, Anton Denton made some devastating breaks and Welwyn continued their choice of taking scrums for penalties rather than kicking for touch when the opportunity arose. It was from one of these scrums on the Ruislip 22 that Kemp picked up and sold a dummy to the opposition giving him a clear run in under the posts. He converted his own try and Welwyn closed the gap to 19-24.

Both sides were finding the lineout difficult and Welwyn were awarded a scrum just inside their half as a result of a not straight lineout. Chris Kemp took the ball from the back of the scrum and put a well-placed kick into touch in the Ruislip 22 for a 50:22 giving Welwyn the throw in. From the lineout Welwyn won another penalty and took the scrum. The referee awarded another penalty for Ruislip infringing in the scrum but did not give a yellow card at this point. Kemp made another break from the back of the scrum and Welwyn continued to put pressure on the Ruislip 22. The team continued to support and move the ball across the pitch. Eventually Ruislip infringed and the referee had finally lost his patience with Ruislip and yellow carded their tight head. The scrum straight after meant that Ruislip had to get their substitute prop onto the pitch and so had to sacrifice their full back for 10 minutes.

Welwyn drove the resulting scrum forward and Josh Milton picked up off the back and drove over for a score. Kemp converted and Welwyn were back in the lead 26-24. The rest of the game was played between the 22’s with Welwyn’s forwards controlling much of what was happening and the backs holding strong against any attacks. In their last attack Ruislip managed to win a lineout on the Welwyn 22 but they lost the ball in the throw and it fell fittingly to Kemp who kicked it out of play to end the game. The Welwyn team showed great resolve to gain their second win on the bounce and special mention must go to the Welwyn front row of Hunter, Bromwell and Comben (with Walkey coming on as sub) who dominated their opposite numbers and gave Welwyn a strong base to play from. Welwyn have a rest next week and then travel to Hitchin who are now the team above them in the league.

Head coach, Gareth Hughes commented:
“In terrible conditions the boys dug deep after a poor first 20 minutes. Once we stopped giving away needless penalties we played some good rugby scoring 2 good tries in the 1st half. The second half was very pleasing keeping them to nil points. Our forwards were outstanding and special mention to all 4 of our front row who absolutely dominated the scrum. We are now on a bit of a run and hope to continue that when we travel to Hitchin in a couple of weeks where we look forward to playing against former players Phil and Truss.”