After the false start of this years non existent pre season, Enfield’s academy side have got off to a roaring start to their campaign. They followed up last week’s important league win over Barnet with a big win in the National Cup against Welwyn on Sunday. Ignatians eight try victory was convincing on a day when autumn finally arrived to Donkey Lane.

As kick off approached we remembered a rather gritty 8 pt win away to our cup opponents for the under 16’s last season. And the first 10 minutes suggested we could be in for a similarly tough encounter. Some missed tackles straight from kick off were rather alarming and most of the early stages were locked In midfield. But the lads soon warmed to the task. A brilliant rip and strong run from Cian got us going followed by some good hands across the pitch.

The breakthrough came on 12 minutes. Firstly Daniel was held up over the line. But after a Welwyn clearance a good pass from Harry gave us width and Kaiden took us close before Henry picked up to score in the corner. Ollie G brilliantly converted for 7-0. The second try was memorable. A good run from Henry took us up to half way. And with the defence stretched, Ollie G picked up, ran straight and deftly chipped the ball over the last defender. The centre deserved the kind bounce he received for his ingenuity to score. 14-0 17mins.

Ignatians were now flying. Both Kaiden and Sammy put surging runs together. Then Sammy again ran over his man on the right wing and popped the ball up while falling to offload to Donie. The Centre, playing at Full Back finished for his first try. 21-0. 21 mins.

Welwyn scored their only try of the game on 26 mins. It was created following the award of two penalties which pinned Enfield back in their 22. A nice offload enabled the away side to score. 21-7.

Our forwards ensured Enfield made the final score of the half. A good run again from Henry took us past half way. He should have passed with two spare men on his outside. Baris however took us further before Hayden straightened the attack. Finally, Cian got hold of the ball from a Lewis pass and he wasn’t going to be stopped, using his strength to score in the corner. 26-7. HT

Like last week the third quarter of the game saw stalemate. Enfield defended well, as a fired up Welwyn desperately tried to get back into the game. The temperature went up on the pitch while the autumn winds and rain made themselves known.

The first try of the half was a soft one. From a Welwyn scrum the ball was dropped and Tommy was able to boot the ball through behind the defence. He followed the ball to dot down. 31—7. 55mins. Quickly after kick off Enfield scored again. Josh C slipped the ball to Donie who scored from half way, including a great dummy to pass. Sammy missed the conversion, briefly forgetting the aim was to kick the ball over the bar rather than under. 36-7. 58mins.

The scores were coming quickly as Ignatians looked a little more cohesive again. We saw good hands across the back line. Then a nice pass from Tommy helped Donie to streak away, showing good pace to seal his hat trick. 43-7
This time Sammy converted superbly despite some stick from the sidelines. The final try deservedly fell to Baris who had a super game. A turnover won by Josh C was fed to the hooker who sped away, fending off not one but two players on the way to score. 48–7. FT.

The lads’ season is well and truly up and running.