WELWYN RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
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Welwyn 15 Fullerians 8
Welwyn broke their losing run with a much-needed victory over a spirited Fullerians side on Saturday. The Watford-based club have featured on Welwyn's fixture list for decades and have always been formidable opponents. They are currently going through a bad patch and are the bottom-placed club in the league. However, they belied their lowly status at Handside and made Saturday's county derby a true contest with the result in doubt until the very end.
With a lengthy injury-list, Welwyn brought in 2nd XV scrum-half Louis Richards to make his first team debut on the left wing. Playing up the slight slope and against a strong breeze, Welwyn were immediately on the defensive. Only good tackling kept out an imaginative Fullerians side, who opened up the game at every opportunity. Welwyn were also penalised in front of the posts but the kick from 25 metres went wide.
For the first 15 minutes most of the action was within 30 metres of Welwyn's line, but the visitors did not score any points. Having been let off the hook, Welwyn gradually got into the game. The forwards played well as a unit, with Rob Picken providing some explosive ball-carrying. Half-backs Mark Cullen and Gareth Hughes got the three-quarters moving with a variety of plays and Jon Child went close with a determined run from full back. But handling errors meant Welwyn needed the boot of Hughes to give them the lead with a penalty from 20 metres out.
With the Fullerians' tighthead prop given a yellow card, Welwyn were set to build on their lead. But, against expectations, Fullerians launched an excellent try-scoring move from a counter-attack started on the halfway line. Immediately Welwyn took play back upfield and the hard-working Child forced his way over in the corner to give his side an 8-5 lead at half-time.
Welwyn had the advantage of the wind and slope after the break and this added to the cohesion of their play. Austen Cox was now getting accurate ball to his scrum-half at line-outs and in the scrums hooker Simon Banks was snatching an occasion strike against the head. The Welwyn pack, although lighter than their opponents, were winning the duel in the breakdown area with No8 Picken and William Freeston leading a number of charges. This overall superiority up front threatened to deliver an avalanche of points but lack of precision in open play prevented this.
The home side eventually increased their lead. Kyle Birkin did well to finish off a sustained attack which seemed to be in danger of petering out. He picked up a loose ball and used his 15-stone build to power through several defenders and score under the posts. Hughes converted to extend the lead to 15-5.
Welwyn should have gone further ahead after Child charged onto a well-timed pass from Hughes and went some 50 metres before being tackled. He could not find a colleague close enough to take what should have been a scoring pass.
Towards the end of the game Fullerians did well to come back in it as Welwyn relaxed momentarily. Full back Rylett kicked a penalty from 25 metres but then missed a similar opportunity. Throughout the game Welwyn attempted to run the ball out of defence. Errors would then occur and offences committed in the attempt to recover possession. Better place kicking from Fullerians could have cost Welwyn the game. At the end Welwyn's forwards drove the ball down one side of the field and then moved it across, only for the final pass to go astray with the try-line frustratingly close.
To gain promotion from London Three North West, Welwyn will need to be in the top two positions at the end of the season. Despite a number of unexpected defeats, Welwyn could still achieve this, but to do so they must win all their remaining games and hope that their close rivals lose regularly. Their next league fixture is away to Ruislip - one of those close rivals - on Saturday.
Welwyn broke their losing run with a much-needed victory over a spirited Fullerians side on Saturday. The Watford-based club have featured on Welwyn's fixture list for decades and have always been formidable opponents. They are currently going through a bad patch and are the bottom-placed club in the league. However, they belied their lowly status at Handside and made Saturday's county derby a true contest with the result in doubt until the very end.
With a lengthy injury-list, Welwyn brought in 2nd XV scrum-half Louis Richards to make his first team debut on the left wing. Playing up the slight slope and against a strong breeze, Welwyn were immediately on the defensive. Only good tackling kept out an imaginative Fullerians side, who opened up the game at every opportunity. Welwyn were also penalised in front of the posts but the kick from 25 metres went wide.
For the first 15 minutes most of the action was within 30 metres of Welwyn's line, but the visitors did not score any points. Having been let off the hook, Welwyn gradually got into the game. The forwards played well as a unit, with Rob Picken providing some explosive ball-carrying. Half-backs Mark Cullen and Gareth Hughes got the three-quarters moving with a variety of plays and Jon Child went close with a determined run from full back. But handling errors meant Welwyn needed the boot of Hughes to give them the lead with a penalty from 20 metres out.
With the Fullerians' tighthead prop given a yellow card, Welwyn were set to build on their lead. But, against expectations, Fullerians launched an excellent try-scoring move from a counter-attack started on the halfway line. Immediately Welwyn took play back upfield and the hard-working Child forced his way over in the corner to give his side an 8-5 lead at half-time.
Welwyn had the advantage of the wind and slope after the break and this added to the cohesion of their play. Austen Cox was now getting accurate ball to his scrum-half at line-outs and in the scrums hooker Simon Banks was snatching an occasion strike against the head. The Welwyn pack, although lighter than their opponents, were winning the duel in the breakdown area with No8 Picken and William Freeston leading a number of charges. This overall superiority up front threatened to deliver an avalanche of points but lack of precision in open play prevented this.
The home side eventually increased their lead. Kyle Birkin did well to finish off a sustained attack which seemed to be in danger of petering out. He picked up a loose ball and used his 15-stone build to power through several defenders and score under the posts. Hughes converted to extend the lead to 15-5.
Welwyn should have gone further ahead after Child charged onto a well-timed pass from Hughes and went some 50 metres before being tackled. He could not find a colleague close enough to take what should have been a scoring pass.
Towards the end of the game Fullerians did well to come back in it as Welwyn relaxed momentarily. Full back Rylett kicked a penalty from 25 metres but then missed a similar opportunity. Throughout the game Welwyn attempted to run the ball out of defence. Errors would then occur and offences committed in the attempt to recover possession. Better place kicking from Fullerians could have cost Welwyn the game. At the end Welwyn's forwards drove the ball down one side of the field and then moved it across, only for the final pass to go astray with the try-line frustratingly close.
To gain promotion from London Three North West, Welwyn will need to be in the top two positions at the end of the season. Despite a number of unexpected defeats, Welwyn could still achieve this, but to do so they must win all their remaining games and hope that their close rivals lose regularly. Their next league fixture is away to Ruislip - one of those close rivals - on Saturday.