Hackney RFC Vs Cuffley
Cuffley 15 Hackney 16
HACKNEY RFC's excellent run of form continued, when they won away at Cuffley by a solitary point to record their third successive win in the Herts-Middlesex 3 North.
Cuffley were the league leaders and undefeated going into this fixture, so it always promised to be a close encounter.
The opening 10 minutes saw the Spring Hill side dominate and as their South Herts hosts tried to use their big pack to constantly carry the ball and slow the game down whenever possible, Hackney were involved in a very physically hard and attritional match.
The Griffins' pack more than matched their Cuffley counterparts up front in terms of strength and aggression and, out of frustration, the home side began to concede penalties.
One infringement saw a Cuffley player receive a yellow card for persistently offending.
James Hardwick landed two kicks and his boot put the visitors ahead, but Cuffley made a big effort towards half-time and their rally was rewarded with two tries.
The first came when James Wilson missed a tackle and the second saw Cuffley's outstanding inside centre cleverly work his way over.
The Herts team came perilously close to a third score which would have made any Hackney comeback very difficult, but some valiant defence denied Cuffley further reward.
The visitors were still in the game at 12-6 down at the start of the second-half and Cuffley's poor discipline continued into the second period.
Hackney fly-half Jeff Moore controlled the game excellently and his accurate kicking constantly pinned Cuffley back.
The home side's indiscipline continued to cost them, but the Griffins always opted to continue the attack rather than settle for three points from the boot.
This policy eventually paid off, when Jonathan Tully scored his second try in as many games, rounding off an excellent team move that was started by a fine break from Shaun Collins in the centre.
Collins' running upset the Cuffley defence all game and as a result was subjected to a series of high and late tackles.
Hardwick added a further penalty to the Hackney score, leaving Cuffley needing a try to win the game and preserve their record. They could only manage a penalty, leaving Hackney winners by a single point.
Skipper Matt Clemens-Lary said afterwards: "It was a great win for us. We were solid from the front five to full-back. This was much more of a game than last week, it wasn't pretty, but sometimes you have to win ugly.''
Hackney Griffins: Brace, Clemens-Lary, Scott-Robinson, Cartwright, Young, Whitlock, Hart, Tully, Fanning, Moore, Hardwick, Collins, Hall, Wilson, Davis. Replacements: Uyanwune, Grieves, Bates, Armstrong, Llewellyn-Williams.
HACKNEY RFC's excellent run of form continued, when they won away at Cuffley by a solitary point to record their third successive win in the Herts-Middlesex 3 North.
Cuffley were the league leaders and undefeated going into this fixture, so it always promised to be a close encounter.
The opening 10 minutes saw the Spring Hill side dominate and as their South Herts hosts tried to use their big pack to constantly carry the ball and slow the game down whenever possible, Hackney were involved in a very physically hard and attritional match.
The Griffins' pack more than matched their Cuffley counterparts up front in terms of strength and aggression and, out of frustration, the home side began to concede penalties.
One infringement saw a Cuffley player receive a yellow card for persistently offending.
James Hardwick landed two kicks and his boot put the visitors ahead, but Cuffley made a big effort towards half-time and their rally was rewarded with two tries.
The first came when James Wilson missed a tackle and the second saw Cuffley's outstanding inside centre cleverly work his way over.
The Herts team came perilously close to a third score which would have made any Hackney comeback very difficult, but some valiant defence denied Cuffley further reward.
The visitors were still in the game at 12-6 down at the start of the second-half and Cuffley's poor discipline continued into the second period.
Hackney fly-half Jeff Moore controlled the game excellently and his accurate kicking constantly pinned Cuffley back.
The home side's indiscipline continued to cost them, but the Griffins always opted to continue the attack rather than settle for three points from the boot.
This policy eventually paid off, when Jonathan Tully scored his second try in as many games, rounding off an excellent team move that was started by a fine break from Shaun Collins in the centre.
Collins' running upset the Cuffley defence all game and as a result was subjected to a series of high and late tackles.
Hardwick added a further penalty to the Hackney score, leaving Cuffley needing a try to win the game and preserve their record. They could only manage a penalty, leaving Hackney winners by a single point.
Skipper Matt Clemens-Lary said afterwards: "It was a great win for us. We were solid from the front five to full-back. This was much more of a game than last week, it wasn't pretty, but sometimes you have to win ugly.''
Hackney Griffins: Brace, Clemens-Lary, Scott-Robinson, Cartwright, Young, Whitlock, Hart, Tully, Fanning, Moore, Hardwick, Collins, Hall, Wilson, Davis. Replacements: Uyanwune, Grieves, Bates, Armstrong, Llewellyn-Williams.
Hackney Vs Cuffley
Thursday, 8 November 2007
