U13s battle to entertaining draw at Camelot

The U13s 2nd team made the journey up the A41 to Hemel Hempstead Camelot on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning, and the journey was worth it for the spectacle both sides served up.

As Enfield completed their warm up, they found themselves a bit light with subs due to some late unavailability, and with 2 subsequent injuries during the game, had to play the majority of the 2nd half with no one in reserve. On the other hand Camelot used their 6 subs to their advantage, rotating throughout the game to keep the legs fresh.

The game started brightly with Romeo making some big runs through their forwards to gain yards. That pushed the Camelot team onto the back foot and gave the Enfield back line space to work with. After continued pressure, the ball was moved wide to Ollie E, who used his pace on the outside to outstrip the Camelot winger and run in a score from distance.

After that score it was Camelot's turn to attack as the match became an evenly matched jousting contest. Waves of attack followed, and the home team may have got over the line earlier if it had not been for some heroic tackling in the backs from Lewis and Yahya. Every time a player came near them they executed tackles to perfection, bouncing back to their feet and starting a counter ruck! Eventually Camelot found some space and made it over the try line to level the scores.

That sparked a reaction in the Enfield team and it was their turn to exert some dominance. Again, big runs from the forwards made them yards with Harry and Jack G taking a turn to punch holes. As they neared the line, it was Kyan's turn to take a crash ball, and he duly delivered, diving over the line for his first try of the season.

As half time approached, Camelot pressed the Enfield line and finally made their way over. In the act of trying to stop the try, Harry got his hand caught and managed to dislocate his finger and unfortunately had to be substituted off. We wish him a speedy recovery!

The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with free flowing end to end rugby which was a pleasure to watch from the side lines.

Enfield's next try came through a continued attack, which saw the ball moved left, then right, before finally making its way back to Sof on the left wing, who rounded his opposite winger to dot down and score the try. The ability to keep the ball alive and recycle it was a real plus for the boys all morning!

As was the case all game Camelot responded, to bring the scores level at fifteen-all, with a breakaway try from their own half by their tall and powerful second row. Enfield rallied again, and more slick passing between Max at 9 and Jake at 10, created space for Sof to score his second of the afternoon.

As the game drew to a close, Camelot kicked clear from their line, and an unlucky bounce for Enfield meant the ball found it's way back to Camelot who raced clear to score and tie the game at 20-20. With just seconds remaining Enfield attacked from deep, and a break from Sof on the outside seemed to have sealed the win for the visiting side, only for play to be pulled back for a touch-and-go foot in touch. With the disappointment visible on the players' faces, the final whistle sounded. Overall a fantastic game of rugby to watch and a fair result for both teams.

It was a great performance from the Enfield side, particularly as their opposition for this friendly are 2 leagues above!

After the game the players descended into the clubhouse for some well earned food, drink, and man of the match awards. Whilst it has become customary to award the opposing team a man of the match award, Camelot took an entertaining twist on the proceedings. The two awardees, Harley from Camelot and Jake from Enfield, were invited to participate in a kid-friendly boat race using cans of coke. Enfield had to make a quick substitution due to Jake's distaste of coke, and up stepped Ollie E. A quick note to Jake: You won't be able to use that excuse in an adult boat race! The race was neck and neck, much like the game itself, but Enfield edged it, wielding the empty can like Excalibur itself!

A splendid morning of rugby, hosted by a fantastic club! In fact such a great place to visit, that one of our parents decided to spend the majority of the day there waiting for a breakdown truck to fix a flat tyre and dead car battery!