Enfield welcomed Hertford to Donkey Lane knowing a tough challenge awaited them with Hertford A sitting two divisions higher and boasting 3 players in their match day squad who made the final 30 on Saracens' U16 Developing Player Pathway. When the sides last met two years ago, Hertford ended Enfield’s ten game winning streak with a dominant 43–12 victory. This time the match was a far closer contest, with Enfield leading by six points with 10 minutes remaining, however, Hertford edged the game 41–33.
The match began in line with league standings, with Enfield conceding tries in the 11th and 16th minutes. The first came after confusion when players from both sides stopped, believing they had heard a whistle for an infringement, when the referee said play on Hertford had broken the line and ran through to score. The second resulted from numbers being drawn into the contact area, leaving Enfield exposed out wide. Despite trailing 0–10, the scoreline felt harsh, as territory and possession had been evenly shared. A clever early kick from George had pinned Hertford back deep in their own half whilst David made valuable gain line success every time he had the ball in hand.
Enfield struck back after 23 minutes. Sustained pressure near the Hertford try line, with powerful carries from Hayden and Nick earned a penalty. Ollie G reacted quickest, tapping and diving over. Patrick converted to close the gap to 7–10.
On 35 minutes, Enfield took the lead. Hayden carried strongly and quick hands from Isaac to Patrick and then to Sammy sent the winger over in the corner. Enfield were ahead 12–10. However, an extended first half allowed Hertford one more opportunity. A clearance kick from Patrick relieved pressure, but missed tackles enabled Hertford to score and take a 12–17 lead into the break.
The second half opened with a flurry of action, featuring three quick tries. Hertford struck first, scoring from the base of a scrum in the 38th minute. Enfield hit back in similar fashion, with David A powering over from a scrum of their own. Hertford then added a third try after a well‑placed kick through. After just 46 minutes, Enfield found themselves trailing 19–27.
Enfield responded brilliantly, lifting their intensity and pushing Hertford back both with and without the ball. Their pressure paid off as Ollie G seized another quicktap opportunity to score his second try. Patrick added the extras to make it a one point game at 26–27.
Moments later came the champagne try of the day. After Hertford kicked to clear, Patrick gathered and carried strongly. Sammy continued the momentum before kicking the ball through. Cian gathered the ball and as he fell to the ground, popped the ball up to Ollie H, whose quick hands moved the ball on to Matteo running at full speed to break the Hertford defensive line and run in a great team try. Patrick’s conversion gave Enfield a 33–27 lead on 60 minutes.
Unfortunately, the advantage was short lived. Two late Hertford tries in the 63rd and 65th minutes, one from missed tackles, the other from a quick tap and go where Enfield didn’t match up against their opposition. Enfield were trailing 33-41 with 5 minutes left. Despite this, Enfield rallied impressively and created further chances but couldn’t convert them. This resilience was noteworthy given injuries to Ciaran, Harry H, Patrick and David A, forcing full use of the bench. There were also injured team mates on the sidelines who would have loved to be on the pitch and join the on-field battle. We also welcomed Leo back to training after a long lay-off.
Overall, this was an encouraging performance and the boys in blue and gold should be proud of themselves as they more than matched their Division 1 opposition. There are lots of positives from the match especially with the set piece where the scrum was strong and the lineout performed better. The main item is they never gave up when they were behind and believed in themselves right up until the end despite knowing victory wasn’t in their grasp.
We extend our thanks to Hertford for travelling south and to referee Alex for playing his part in a thoroughly enjoyable contest. Another friendly next week as we travel out to Romford & Gidea Park, a ground that has historically welcomed us with torrential rain – fingers crossed it will be dry!