In glorious conditions more suited for 7’s / supporting, Watford travelled with a bare 15 players plus coach Silver on the sidelines surrounded in ‘break in case of emergency’ glass. To make matters worse, in form prop Luke Bees bent over during the warm up and pulled his muscle thus confining him to set piece duties only for the majority of the game.

Despite this, we started well. A lovely hanging re-start from skipper Bram was superbly claimed by Wilkinson, Watford going on the attack from the off. Unfortunately for the visitors, their bright start was nullified when Chess Valley scored from turnover ball, 7-0 to the hosts.

Watford re-started, Wilkinson once again soared to claim the ball. Solid Chess defence managed to hold Josh up, however Watford turned on the pressure at the subsequent scrum to force a turnover. From there we started to work the phases, the hosts straying offside under pressure to earn Watford their first shot at goal. Wilkinson’s penalty narrowly drifted wide, 7-0 after 15 minutes.

The Watford set piece was beginning to purr, Dunlop finding his jumpers at the lineout with metronomic regularity whilst the scrum was not only a secure platform for the men in red, but also exerting increasing pressure on the Chess put in. It was from one such disrupted scrum just outside their 22 that the hosts were forced to clear their lines, Yates feeding Jamesy who made a scintillating break back up to half way before putting Nwefo into space. Kingsley turned on the afterburners to score a fine try under the sticks – extras added from Josh for 7 each,

Watford were gaining a foothold in the game and enjoying the greater share of possession and territory. Unfortunately, unforced errors in the opposition red zone meant we didn’t take the lead until the final play of the half. The forwards once again made good ground from a rolling maul which was halted just outside the Valley 22. Martin Lee peeled off the back, showing a distinct lack of pace as he lolloped relatively unopposed to the try line (and still managing to find contact on his way). Tricky conversion was missed, 7-12 Watford at the break.

In a game of such tight margins, the second half was always going to be a tense affair and those on the sidelines weren’t disappointed. Chess used their bench well, keeping players fresh while the Watford 15 began to tire in the heat. Chess scored and crucially added the conversion, levelling things up before enjoying a sustained period of pressure in and around the visitors 22. Watford tackled manfully, Man of the Match Pitsialis holding up a Chess drive over the line and allowing us to clear for some breathing space.

Having weathered the storm, Watford gradually began to play the game in Valley territory. The stags scrum was increasingly dominant, Bees Gordon and Cunningham all putting in excellent shifts. The travelling support thought Watford had drawn ahead, Nwefo fielding a kick before being hauled down inside the Chess 22. Quick ruck ball saw the ball make its way to Wilkinson for a walk in under the sticks, only for Watford’s Sean Silver to flag Nwefo as having been in touch – an exemplary display of sportsmanship which, depending on who you speak with, was not to be reciprocated at the end of the match.

Watford were not to be denied and soon forced another penalty, points were the option this time however the kick narrowly missed. Kingsley fielded the subsequent re-start and showed trademark pace and physicality to barrel his way into the Chess 22 before being felled by a poorly timed (but not malicious) high tackle. The fall of the King bought another penalty, this time the ball was put into touch. Watford’s lineout purred, Lee driving over for his second of the afternoon.

With less than ten minutes left, the game was in the balance with Watford leading by a slender 5 points. The re-start hung high, Gordon getting wiped out in the aerial challenge. The referee deemed the challenge fair and Tom to have knocked the ball forward during the contest, however our hosts had run out of front row players thus denying us the chance to challenge at the subsequent scrum. Valley also bought on an extra fresh set of legs, their young tyro making significant inroads into an exhausted Watford defence.

An accidental knock on from Watford in the tackle gave Chess more guaranteed possession in the centre of the field thanks to their lack of front row. From the set piece, Steve James raced up and made a huge hit on his opposite man, the ball being spilled in the process. Watford thought they had turned over possession, the referee thought otherwise and penalised Jamesy as well as showing him yellow.

Chess launched their fresh man mountain into the Watford defensive line once again, the visitors desperately trying to keep their re-energised hosts at bay. Phase after phase passed as we desperately clung on. A Watford infringement gave Chess one final penalty, last play called. The ball eventually worked is way to the wing, Wilkinson putting in a thunderous tackle as the Valley winger dived to try and ground the ball. Looked to be clearly in touch if you were wearing a red shirt, a fine finish should you have the green on. After an age (and consulting with the home sides linesman……), the referee decided to give the try leaving the hosts with a fiendishly tricky touchline conversion to win. All credit to the kicker who slotted an absolute monster under intense pressure to give his side victory.

A tough pill to swallow, after a gutsy performance from a Watford team light on numbers. Credit to Chess Valley who have certainly proven they shouldn’t have been plying their trade in Merit rugby. Looking forward to hopefully getting another crack at them at Radlett Road.

MOTM – Georgio. Tackling machine as always.

WOTW – Jamesy. Tough call, but yellow sealed it.