Sat 31 Oct 2026, 15:00
“Don’t Panic!”
“Stupid Boy(s)!”
“Do you think it’s wise?”
Three epithets from Dads Army which could all be applied to Legends on Saturday as they conspired to lose another extremely winnable game. As the Westcliff Chairman said in the Bar after the game, “You had us in the lineout, scrum and battered us around the park, so how on earth did we win…?” The answer he came up with was… grit! And whilst that was true, it was also true that Letchworth gave the home side several early Christmas Presents to help them on their way. The joy the home side displayed showed how much this win meant to them, and the gloom in the post-match Letchworth huddle told its own story.
It was veteran hooker/prop Kyle “Rambo” Hughes who spoke for all when the normally quiet man spoke wise words as to how this so successful team needed to get back to winning ways, and that was to bond as brothers and, just as over a decade ago in darkest times, they need to stick together, play together and give it their all to reap the rewards that will surely come. It’s not as if a team made up of nearly all its former components had suddenly fallen apart… it has just temporarily lost its mojo!
One good sign was the return of forward talisman Tom Lewis, who rewarded the travelling faithful with a brace of tries and looks like being involved in coming weeks… Legends will need him when they face high flying Walsham in two weeks’ time.
Letchworth had opened up in expansive style with Kwaku making a break and then Charlie Parkhouse sprinting through out wide and chipping ahead, then just failing to get the ball down. Letchworth were bossing the game and nearly over the line when a wild unnecessary pass was plucked by speedy kiwi second row Josh Keech, who sprinted nearly seventy metres to touch down under the posts for an easy seven points. Forward domination brought Lewis his two tries, but as they were out wide, Sharp failed to convert and indeed only put one between the sticks all afternoon. From 7-10, Letchworth gave the hosts far too much space to build up steam, and another converted try followed from a short penalty. Another poor turnover gave Westcliff a further opportunity to make it 19-10, but at least the indefatigable winger Josh Parkhouse struck just before halftime to reduce the difference to four points at the break.
While the Lineout functioned better with Lewis, it was still far from perfect; intercepts and turnovers abounded, and too many first time tackles were missed. Surely it was time to protect the ball and, rather than fling it in all directions in a frenetic manner, for the forwards to impose the control that they surely would establish.
Things seemed to improve for Letchworth in the first ten minutes after the break. The Westcliff skipper was carded, and the visitors took the initiative with two quick scores… one from returning hooker Tim Hughes, and then a fine pass from Sharp opened up the home defence and Charlie Parkhouse went over, and this time Sharp collected the extras. At 19-27, it was to be hoped that Legends would now motor on, but this just did not happen. Aviss, who had a disappointing game, was carded, and Westcliff came back into it, cutting through weak tackling and bringing matters back to 26-27. Aviss returned but now was slow in an attempted box kick, which was charged down for a joyful Westcliff to score what proved to be the winning try right under the posts. Despite Letchworth trying to press onto the Westcliff line, the home defence held out and indeed nearly broke out again. Centre Aman Johal had his best match to date and was deservedly man of the match, but his fellow centre Will Tirherington seemed out of sorts and looked like he was carrying an injury. Both Parkhouses were again impressive, and Lewis and Llewelyn Jones, along with the front row, were formidable up front, but the overall spark is not connecting, but maybe Rambo Hughes’ post-match words will inspire a change in attitude and direction, as this team has always known to fight to succeed in the past.
