Threes Give Themselves Too Much To Do

Enfield Ignatians will look back at two contrasting halves of rugby. In the first-half, they struggled for
cohesion, particularly out wide, and they paid the price as lively Harpenden put the blue and golds on the rack and winged their way to an 18-0 at the break.

Reverting to type after the interval, the threes used their bruising forward power to do the hard yards,
and their efforts were rewarded after Anthony Clare hustled his way over.

Using the pick up and go as the weapon of choice, the blue and golds continued to ask questions of the Harps' defence, and a try from Chris Langan narrowed the gap to eight points, although the blue and golds were always vulnerable once their Hertfordshire rivals got good width on their game.

A fourth Harpenden try made the task that much harder, but Ignatians continued to pummel away via the forwards, A couple of near misses, which included the ball being spilled over the line, finally gave way to the altogether more satisfying feeling of a third try: scored from a quick tap penalty from Dan McDermott.

However, that was good as it got as Harpenden, getting good width on their game and with plenty of pace on the wings, killed Ignatians off with a fifth and converted try.

Ignatians, welcoming back some of its university contingent including the tireless Henry Pritchard, can still draw on many positives, which, hopefully, will be translated into more progress up the league ladder in the coming weeks.

Both sides posed for photos after the game as the two captains were intereviewed after the game by Dave Perks in the press room. The Harpenden skipper, clearly relishing the chance to play on the 4G surface, said that his side "had enjoyed the game" and "would be keen to play on it again".

Ignatians captain Bish Galloway, although a little disappointed, felt that his side hadn't stuck to the script in the first-half, adding that the blue and golds were a sharper, more competitive outfit once they reverted to what they do best. Still, it had been an enjoyable experience for both sides.