Harpenden 39 - Rochford 13

This was supposed to be a clash of two champions of their respective divisions both newly promoted into this higher quality league but in the end it was all one way traffic.
After an impressive start and a late first half comeback Rochford surrendered to a talented, fitter and more determined outfit who on their own admission think they might struggle against some of the more physical sides in this very strong new London 1 north league.
On this evidence Rochford will have to improve a great deal to stand any chance of competing against any of the teams this season.
It looked so promising as the visitors took the game to their hosts playing some speedy and controlled rugby and Harpenden were slow to respond to the threat.
Rochford were awarded a penalty after applying pressure on the Harpenden line and centre Tom Ashton duly obliged by slotting over the kick.
Very shortly after good forward play resulted in rangy No.8 James Needham, recovered from last season’s injury problems, diving over for a well taken try. Ashton converted and Rochford were ahead 10 -0 within 15 minutes and looking good for it.
The Hertfordshire side, realising that they needed to respond quickly otherwise the game would drift away from them upped the tempo and started to run at Rochford using their young and fast backs to advantage.
The Harpenden winger finished off a flowing movement to score in the corner to open their account and soon after he went over again for a converted try to take them into the lead.
At this point the game was keenly poised with both sides competing in both lineouts and loose well with Sam Tape, Ross Murphy and James Needham all supplying good ball to their backs where both wingers Greg Stubbs and Jon Baker looked dangerous.
One aspect of Rochford’s play which was under pressure was in the tight where Harpenden disrupted the ball supply repeatedly and as the match went on this aspect of play became more highlighted as the Rochford set piece struggled.
Good Rochford pressure towards the end of the half was eventually rewarded with a chance to take back the lead with a penalty and Ashton duly kicked over to put his side 13 -12 ahead at the break.
Both sets of supporters took a breather and settled themselves in for what seemed an evenly fought contest in the second half.
As in ”All schemes of Mice and Men” it was not to be as Harpenden dominated the next session and for the first quarter poor Rochford were pinned in their half and had to concede another converted try edging the home team ahead again 19 - 13.
Three more tries came all from Harpenden’s speedy back line ,two of which were converted put paid to any Rochford recovery as they failed to respond to events and fell far below the standards that they had set themselves and which we all know they are capable of.
A massive amount of hard work is now the order of the day to rediscover that fighting spirit and determination that we always associate with a Rochford First Team.

HARPENDONS MATCH REPORT
With pre-season training finally over, Harpenden 1st XV took to the field on Saturday for the opening fixture of their new campaign in London 1 North.

Facing fellow league new-boys Rochford Hundred an expectant crowd watched on, encouraged by the narrow win against them in last season’s national cup fixture.

The players were only too aware of how challenging the previous encounter had been and got off to the worst possible start. Individual errors and indiscipline were capitalised on well by the visitors and within 5 minutes the home side were down 10-0. However the team regrouped and after battling against Rochford’s abrasive style managed to pull back 2 tries courtesy of Pattison. The first was a well-worked overlap to see the winger step his way through tackles to touch down, the second was a solo intercept effort to see him streak away from the halfway line. This gave the scoreline a more balanced look as the men in black went into the half only 10-13 down.

Playing with the wind now behind them, Harpenden took full advantage and pinned the visitors into their 22 for long periods with a well executed kicking game from Tennant. The pack, ably led by the hard-hitting Read had an excellent game, allowing Collins to provide the backs with some high-quality possession which they made good use of; Alan Barton attacked with pace and from depth to slip through the defence and dot down under the posts and Macdonald dodged and weaved his way over for a valuable 5 points. Jonny Barton added the extras before swapping with Marchon who, after only a few minutes on the field got in on the act with a devastating turn of pace to leave his marker for dead and accelerate over for a try.

The solid platform provided by Peck, Singleton and Peters allowed Dumbleton and Wolfe to combine well and make valuable yards up the field. It was from one of these free-flowing phases that Speirs was able to power his way through for a try of his own. He followed this up with a conversion and later added a penalty to his tally.

At no stage were Rochford Hundred out of this match and continued to attack the Harpenden line with strong runs and some powerful forward play, but the home side’s defence stood firm with Harmer preventing any way through at the breakdown. The dominance of Roberts at the lineout and his contribution in open play rightly earned him the man of the match status, whilst the fresh legs of Thach and Blake allowed the Redbourn Lane side to maintain the high tempo until the final whistle.

A good opening win 39-13 and they can take confidence from this for their forthcoming fixture against Brentwood on Saturday.

Squad: Peck, Singleton, Peters, Roberts, Harmer, Read, Wolfe, Dumbleton, Collins, Tennant, Pattison, Barton J, Speirs, Macdonald, Barton A, Blake, Marchon, Thach