Man of the Match Jamie Catchpole
Sevenoaks welcomed Hertford to the Paddock on Sunday for what has become a staple early January friendly fixture over the past two seasons.
Hertford being a big club with a proud history makes their colts the perfect preparation for more tough Kent League encounters later this month. This fixture proved to be exactly that as a physical and spirited Hertford side made Oaks work exceptionally hard from whistle to whistle.
Oaks started like a steam train, as a training ground lineout starter play saw flanker Tom Hewitt put No.8 Jamie Catchpole through a hole in the midfield for a line break. Catchpole drew the fullback before hitting a fantastic pass to fullback Alex Holden on the left. Holden fed winger Isaac Canham who finished the job and worked round towards the posts, giving fly half Max Lindsay an easy conversion. Oaks led 7-0.
Unfortunately, Oaks' achilles heel this season has been an inability to back up one excellent piece of play with another. This was the case again as for the next 25 minutes, Oaks gave away soft penalties and coughed up good attacking ball in the middle third, gifting Hertford multiple attacking sets inside the Oaks 10m line. The home defence was physical and well-organised, but the pressure eventually told as Hertford put the ball in the air from close range on a penalty advantage. The Hertford winger won the aerial contest and dotted down to bring Hertford right back into the game at 7-5.
To their credit, Oaks regained a modicum of control just before the half-time whistle to milk a kickable penalty inside the Hertford 10m line. Lindsay converted and Oaks led 10-5 at half-time.
The 2nd half was a much improved affair as Oaks ran in 4 unanswered tries after Hertford initially dominated the opening 10 minutes after the break. The home defence was once again at the forefront as the visitors battered away at the Oaks line, but without success.
The first of Oaks' late try blitz came good defensive pressure from a clever Lindsay grubber kick led to possession 5m out from the Hertford try line. Oaks executed their close range attacking structure brilliantly and within 3 phases, 2nd row Luca Esposito went through the middle of the ruck to dot down for a much-needed score. Lindsay converted and Oaks were 17-5 up.
This score seemed to daze Hertford for a few minutes as winger Jake Tucker broke from deep almost immediately after the kickoff. Tucker ran 50m before feeding replacement fullback Hamish McQueen for the score that killed the game off. Lindsay converted in his final act on the pitch to put Oaks 24-5 up an finally in control.
Two more scores in the final minutes gave the scoreline a bit of gloss. Alex Holden bagged himself a try after getting on the end of a classic Oaks counter-attack and then another perfectly executed lineout strike play put Canham in for his 2nd. Replacement scrum half converted one from two of these late scores to give Oaks the win, 36-5.
This was a good run out for Oaks ahead of back-to-back Kent League fixtures against TJs and Canterbury at the end of the month. Hertford brought enough physicality on both sides of the ball to ensure that Oaks always had to maintain their intensity to get any change out of the game. Some obvious rustiness seemed to melt away as the game progressed also, but Oaks will want to address the extended periods in matches where they lose control of territory and possession.
The Academy 2s and U16As are both away at Tunbridge Wells on Jan 14th - the 2s in a friendly and the 16s in their search for a first Kent League win of the season.
Squad list : Peter LaTrobe, Harry Gullett, Colby Bedford-Eatwell, Luca Esposito, George Booth, Harry Scott, Tom Hewitt, Jamie Catchpole, Zac Loder, Max Lindsay (C), Jake Tucker, Joel Walter, Charlie Drysdale, Isaac Canham, Alex Holden
Subs : Taylor Nash, Will Tarry, Harry Clayson, Harry Bouverie, Liam Thomas, Will Brook, Tom Hyde, Hamish McQueen
MotM : Jamie Catchpole