Hertford RFC 28 – 12 Sevenoaks Rugby Club
Sevenoaks Rugby Club will need to step up a level from Saturday's performance away to Hertford.
A lot of hard work on the Paddock, in the gym and during warm-up fixtures presented the perfect build-up to their opening fixture in London & South East Premier division. On the day, however, the accuracy was lacking. Although Oaks returned home with little to show it was good to be back.
Both sides started tentatively as you might expect following an 18-month layoff. Handling errors disrupted the nervy opening exchanges, with decent sequences of possession invariably ending with a knock-on in the contact. The Oaks scrum was solid and Oaks enjoyed much of the possession in the first half but did not manage to convert this into any meaningful pressure in the Hertford 22. It took 38 minutes for the first score to be registered, Lloyd Davies giving Hertford a 3-0 advantage to take into the half-time break from a penalty in front of the posts.
The second half was incredibly frustrating for Oaks. Twice they looked like getting back on terms, first when Ben Adams danced down the left wing for Oaks' first try which he duly converted and the second time with Scott Sedgwick barrelling over for Oaks' second try. Twice they let Hertford take the game away from them. From a position to contest the result in the final 10 minutes of the match, a mix up at the back of the scrum gave Hertford a soft try and when they scored again from the re-start it was game over. 28-12 flattered the home side a little but Hertford certainly merited the win.
All support will be very welcome this Saturday as senior rugby makes its competitive return to Knole Paddock. Oaks entertain Westcombe Park in a triple header at the Paddock, with the 2nd XV and Gents also in Home action. The 1st XV kick off at 3:00pm. Come on you Oaks!
Sevenoaks Rugby Squad: James Simmons; Scott Sedgwick; Tom Simmons; Tom Morris; George Flatman; Matt McRae; Sean Derrick; Fred Richardson; Hugo Carter; James Fotheringham; Ben Adams; Nigel Gumbleton; Josh Thorneycroft; Drew Forrester; Jonny Short; Gilbert Tahao; Greg Langridge, and Awa Morris.