The first game since April saw Black Horse take on a mix of Datchworth 2nds and 3rds in a pre-season friendly. With a summer of touch rugby and training the horse were optimistic of starting the season well.

The game was played in quarters and the horse spent most of the first quarter defending. Datchworth had the lion’s share of possession but the horse defended resolutely, keeping a strong line and stopping Datchworth from getting the ball out wide. The second quarter was played out much the same as the first but the horse should have had a try when the referee got in the way of Russell Dee and Ben Brown taking the ball over the line. The first half ended 0-0 and the horse had defended impressively.

The horse made a few changes at half time and they didn’t have much time to embed before Datchworth broke through the line to score the first try of the game. This seemed to kick the horse in to shape and they spent much of the next quarter in Datchworth’s half. Some great driving off line outs from the forwards saw the horse get close but they couldn’t get the ball over the line before the end of the third quarter, leaving the score 7-0 to Datchworth.

The final quarter of the game saw the most action, with three trys in total. Datchworth got the first when they shipped the ball out wide to find a three man overlap, aided by a lucky bounce, to make the score 12-0. The horse came back strong and won the ball back quickly, moving forward up the field. Aaron Paea took the ball from the back of the scrum and Tom Allan was alongside supporting to score the horses first season of the season.

The momentum was with the horse and they continued on the attack, looking for a second try and conversion to even up the score. The horse pushed forward but Datchworth defended well and won back the ball. However a kick from their number 10 landed straight in the arms of Isaac Aitken who powered forward and found Aaron Paea hanging about on the wing to score the Horse’s second try of the game. Ben Brown couldn’t convert leaving the score 12-10 to Datchworth.

There was still time for the horse to get a third try but Datchworth were on the attack. After receiving what can best be described as a Hadouken earlier in the game, Tom Irving was not letting the same player get away again. He sprinted to catch the man and jumped, like a lion chasing a buffalo, to bring his man down (This clip best described what happens, watch from 13 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qqtGpmygs8).

The horse regained possession but with only two minutes to go they couldn’t get the ball up the pitch to score another try. The game ended 12-10 to Datchworth but the horse will be very optimistic for the season ahead after a fantastic defensive performance. The first game of the season is next Saturday at home to Southgate and the horse will be looking forward to getting off to a winning start

MOM: Chris Powell / Isaac Aitken
WOM: Tom Irving

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