Watford Advance to the Semis!

Saturday was a great day for the Club as a whole, with the Seconds advancing into the Semi Finals of the Herts Merit Cup with a a win over Camelot 3s, while the Firsts managed to secure a spot in the Final after beating Mill Hill by a point away from Home!

It was an unusual start to the game for the 2s, with a good warm up done and some rousing words from Pie, we found ourselves a try up inside the first 10 minutes. Some good build up from the forwards allowed Keelan to get the ball wide to Greg who fed Jak Byrne the ball just inside the oppositions 22 for him to rampage through and score under the posts. Joe Clancy duly added the conversion.

Camelot 0 Watford 7

Next thing we knew we were in again! This time in the form of Joe Clancy. Some more big carries from Bekker, Dixon, Tim and Bridge allowed the backs a platform to get the ball wide to Pie, who had kept his width brilliantly to find himself in the outside center channel. The skipper then threw a lovely pass out to Clancy who turned on the after burners to score in the corner. He unfortunately missed the ensuing conversion.

Camelot 0 Watford 12

The game carried on as it started, with some strong carrying from both teams, in particular from Man Beast Andy Lee, who provided Watford with some serious go forward. Camelot began to get in the game and defended well, until scrumhalf Butch spotted a mismatch out wide on the left hand side and fed the ball to Meredith. Not shy at taking it to the line, Meredith put on some trademark footwork to get through the gap. It was a great effort from the fullback to get a half tackle on, but it was an even greater effort from fullback Ben Wilson who had run a great support line to take the one handed offload from Meredith and score the try. Clancy alas couldn't add the extras.

Camelot 0 Watford 17

Camelot then began to get some ball and played some nice rugby, they nearly had a try after a break from their fullback down the right hand side but it was the defensive efforts of Andy Lee who managed to disrupt the ball and cause him to knock on......................

Some more good rugby followed from both teams. The Watford line out was on form this week, with Tim securing our ball and pinching a few from the opposition, Beynon and Bekker providing the lifting strength to get him up higher than the Camelot jumpers!

Watford managed to get back down into the opposition 22 and after a number of phases of forward play, Chad Bekker managed to rumble his way over and grab himself a try! Clancy unfortunately missed the conversion.

Camelot 0 Watford 22

The game then took a bizarre change of direction, having been in control for the whole of the first half Watford decided it was time to start a patch of ill discipline. Tullett was yellow carded for a late shot on the Camelot danger man and after some persistent ruck and offside penalties, the ref warned that anymore in the red zone would be another binning. Camelot took advantage of their new found possession and their fullback got through from a tap, despite the cover tackle of Meredith he was able to offload from the floor to a supporting man for a good score. The Conversion was missed.

Half time Camelot 5 Watford 22

The Second half opened up with a Camelot try. A well chased kick saw the Camelot winger gather the ball and offload it to the 9 who popped to the fullback for another Camelot try. Another missed conversion followed.

Camelot 10 Watford 22

The game then got scrappy, some loose passes and knock ons from both sides. saw a scrumfest ensue, which was very unwelcome given the cold temperatures. Highlights from the second half include the powerful runs from returned prop Jake Tierney, who ran it hard and straight and was a real handful for defenders.

Camelot nearly scored again after a break from their own 22, only for the referee to stop play for an 'injury' to a Hemel player, which was a tremendous act of sportsmanship. Safety first after all...

Andy Lee had to go off with an arm injury and Pete Jenks entered the fold. The oldest man on the park played a blinder, having gathered the ball loose in back play he threw a delightful 20 metre pass out to Clancy who showed once again his trademark speed, to score in the corner. This time adding the conversion with a great kick from the sideline. Jenks then smashed the Camelot winger into touch to bring an end to a great performance for the Seconds!

Final Score: Camelot 10 Watford 29