Sat 8 Mar 2025, 15:00
On a sunny day at Scottow, a large home crowd cheered on their young side as this bonus point victory took them clear of any relegation worries. Meanwhile, for Letchworth—long in the knowledge that second place had been achieved—there was a distinct air of end-of-term-itus. Even so, they nearly pulled this one out of the fire despite firing on half cylinders, especially in the first half.
North Walsham started in the fashion of Letchworth, with clear driving patterns and running left and right. From kick-off, they worked their way upfield without interruption, finishing with a final break to score—Letchworth not having touched the ball.
Walsham, whilst not always in possession, exerted control for much of the first half. They forced Legends into errors, and well-taken penalties provided the territory from which to strike. Multi-phase driving play, despite stern defence, led to space on the wing, and two passes created Walsham’s second score.
A third Walsham attack finally broke down. From the scrum, a penalty and lineout enabled Legends to exert their own game plan, which, after many phases, pulled back the score through Kaz Henderson—12 v 7.
Walsham did not look like a side that had struggled most of the season. Indeed, they had dispatched Southend and drawn with Tring in the two previous rounds. They continued to play driving, running, controlled rugby and extended their lead to 19 v 7 until Sharp took advantage of some concerted driving play.
The scrum was keeping Letchworth in the match, but a turning point came when Sharp clearly executed a 50/22, marked by the touch judge but overruled by the referee. A discussion ensued, and Letchworth lost some composure. Discipline suffered, leading to penalties and a yellow card for Titherington, which took the punch out of their attack and stiffened Walsham’s resolve.
As the Letchworth scrum dominated, winning penalties, the Walsham back row broke on ‘arm out’ to remove the ‘free ball’ play by tackling Gibbs. The referee failed to pick this up, allowing Walsham to negate several advantages and avoid what should have been yellow cards.
Penalties converted added to a further try after Letchworth had pulled back to 22 v 21 through the pugnacious Tim Hughes. That try and the two penalties left Legends chasing the game in the last quarter. Walsham defended tenaciously at 32 v 21 but looked susceptible with Lewis and Jones now breaking tackles. It looked like Legends might save the match. However, despite pulling back a further try from Richard Stokes—who marked his last game for Letchworth with a signature driving score, gaining two bonus points—they ran out of time, despite Sharp converting all.
After a splendid run of eight wins, Letchworth suffered only their third defeat of what has been a magnificent season. They remain twenty-five points clear of third-place Sudbury, bettering their fourth-place finish last season in an unassailable second to Oundle, whom they face at Legends Lane on 22nd March. It will be the match of the season—Letchworth determined to break Oundle’s unbeaten run and Oundle just as determined to defend it.
