Sat 11 Nov 2023
After the rise… the fall, or in this case, after a great second-half against Shelford last week, Letchworth could not find the same synchronisation to overcome a very determined Sudbury side. As head coach Baz Basra put it in the post match huddle “You were not as good as you thought you were last week and not as bad as you looked today“. Indeed the main problem was over trying to play the expansive wide game when the ball either failed to go to hand or was lost. The fact that the home side backs were allowed to live offside restricted space and too often Letchworth lacked pace out wide to make a decisive end to several good moves. Full marks to Sudbury their defence in the second half was heroic somewhat reminiscent of Legends in games last year and they made the most of their chances including two intercept tries that brought them 14 points.
The first quarter saw real Letchworth dominance and apart from the home side missing a sitter of a penalty the traffic was all black and amber. A great move involving Parkhouse, Titherington and Gibbs was just foiled but then a great lineout and a long pass saw Parkhouse cut through from full back for a great score converted by Sharp. The large crowd of travelling faithful thought this was the start of another try fest but the home side had other ideas and it was to be the last time Legends troubled the whitewash all afternoon.
Sharp added a penalty after Sudbury dropped a lineout but then a string of penalties against the visitors saw the home side drive over for a score. As Letchworth pressed again another long miss pass was read by the Sudbury winger who intercepted and sprinted seventy metres to touch down and the conversion gave them the lead 12/10, though Sharp restored matters at half time with a further penalty and at 12/13 at the break it was all to play for especially as Sudbury were carded for a high tackle at the end of the half.
The second half belonged to the home side. Early pressure on Legends seemed to be thwarted when Parkhouse intercepted the ball and made his way seemingly uncatchable. Unfortunately it was the refs whistle that brought him back and handed out a yellow… for what most in the crowd were unable to say.
It certainly changed matters as a confident home side scored well from a scrum and then a great backs move led to the best try of the game and took them to 24/13. Letchworth were still very much in it and were camped on the home sides line, but error and dropped balls meant they just could not score. Peasnall, who has come on at half time, made a telling contribution and Titherington was always a danger and set up several try scoring platforms, but the reply just would not come. Then with one more pass for a Letchworth score saw a second Sudbury intercept which this time went the length of the field with Staddon in vain pursuit.
This time there was no way back as the home side repelled all boarders and penalties and handling errors did the rest for the visitors. Onwards then with lessons learned for another away fixture next week against Rochford Hundred.
Team from 1: Robinson, Hughes T, Wilkinson, Wilcock, Jones, Heathman, Fitts, Lewis, Howman, Sharp, Gibbs, Streets, Titherington, Staddon, Parkhouse
Subs: Peasnall, Mongston, Walker
Amidst the challenges on the field, today held extra significance as we marked Armistice Day. Before the match, a poignant ceremony paid respect to those who sacrificed.
