Sat 5 Mar 2022
Maybe the corks were not quite popping at Legends Lane on Saturday but there was certainly a sense of deep satisfaction that despite what head coach Baz Basra considered a somewhat indifferent performance Letchworth, with this away bonus point win, achieved promotion with three games left and the crucial encounter with Priorians for second spot on the last game of the season April 2nd.
Twenty four hours before kick off this game was in jeopardy due to a water logged pitch. Though not the mud bath at Legends Lane a couple of weeks ago, the pitch was a leveller, more suited to Ruislip’s heavyweight pack than Letchworth’s pacey attack.
The first 10 minutes saw Letchworth defending in their own 22. Ruislip could not find a way through until a beautifully weighted grubber saw the ball come to rest over the try line and under the posts. Tatenda Gurure reacted quickly, his pace ensuring he touched down fractionally before a Ruislip hand got on the ball.
Letchworth continued to defend until a loose ball was picked up by captain Arun Johal who charged down the left wing in to the Ruislip corner. Some great hands by supporting players lead to Peasnell being brought down just short of the line, and he fed Joe Allison with a beautiful offload out of the back of his hand. Allison crossed to score, with the conversion falling just short. 0/5 to Letchworth.
A few minutes later and Letchworth were defending in their own 22 again. The Ruislip ball carrier was bundled in to touch and Letchworth had the throw in. But the referee judged there was a Letchworth infringement in the lineout and awarded a penalty to Ruislip. It was taken quickly and Ruislip kept the ball tight, picking and going and a try was scored near the posts. An easy conversion made it 7/5 to Ruislip.
Then on 20 minutes a great break from Luke Mongston – who had a fine game – saw him feed ‘Rambo’ Hughes who was on the charge. He was brought down but a great offload to Gurure, running on to the ball at full pace, saw him score down the left wing. A great conversion by Hem Johal made it 7/12 in Letchworth’s favour.
Much of the remaining half saw Letchworth defending and they were doing well not to concede. But on 35 minutes Ruislip were camped on Letchworth’s try line. The ball came loose on Letchworth’s side and Arun Johal attempted a kick to clear his line but it was charged down and Ruislip pounced on the loose ball to score near the right corner. The conversion was missed. 12/12.
The final few minutes of the half were again spent in Letchworth’s half. Both teams made handling errors, and Letchworth were awarded a scrum near their 22. A good shove by the Ruislip pack and the ball came out on their side and their centre scampered over to score. The conversion looked good but at the last second the wind took it to the right of the posts. 17/12 at half time to Ruislip, and Letchworth knew they had to up their game if they were going to come away with a win.
The second half started well for Letchworth. A scrum was awarded to them just inside the Ruislip half. Fleet footed number 8 Joe Allison picked it up from the base and charged upfield, selling a dummy in the process. He was brought down just short and from the resulting ruck Arun Johal went over on the left wing. 17/17 as the conversion was missed.
The next 10 minutes were spent in the Letchworth half. A contentious penalty was awarded against Letchworth in the ruck and Ruislip chose to kick for goal, but missed. A couple of minutes later and Gurure attempted to run the ball out of his own half but was penalised for holding on after being brought down. Some back chat and the referee awarded Ruislip another 10 meters and the ball was kicked in the corner. The pressure was beginning to mount. The lineout resulted in a number of phases on the Letchworth 5m line. An offence at a ruck resulted in second rower Wilcock being given a yellow card; only the referee seemed to know why as onlookers – and Wilcock - were baffled. To now not concede points when under so much pressure and down to 14 men shows the grit and spirit in this Letchworth side.
And then at last an opportunity for Letchworth to attack. Full back Gibbs took a high ball in his own 22 and scampered up the field but then – for once – poor handling led to the attack breaking down. A few minutes later and Letchworth were on the attack again. Great hands saw the Ruislip defence pulled from one wing to the other. Mongston fed Peasnell on the right wing who took the ball on before a fine offload to ‘Rambo’ Hughes who – running a great support line – was under the posts for the fourth and bonus point try. The conversion made it 17/24.
Ruislip then went on the attack but the ball carrier found himself with little support in Letchworth’s 22, and when brought down ‘Rambo’ Hughes was there to get his hands on the ball and penalty to Letchworth for holding on. Mongston – so often the catalyst for Letchworth’s attacks – took a quick tap and off he charged in to Ruislip’s half. He fed Gurure on the right wing and then great handling from Mongston, Howman and Titherington resulted in Day crashing over the whitewash near the posts. The conversion made it 17/31.
Letchworth really had the bit between their teeth now. Their directness, pace and handling created gaps all over the field – Ruislip’s defence simply didn’t have the time to re-organise. Another great break and some wonderful handling let in Gibbs for a certain try, but Peasnell’s offload was harshly judged to have gone forward and the ref bought it back for a Ruislip scrum. Peasnell had a fine game but moments later was shown the red card for reacting to what he felt was a late hit.
More great handling from Letchworth in the final play of the game saw ‘Rambo’ Hughes break the line to go over for his second, cheered on by the travelling faithfull including his young daughter. The kick was missed and the final whistle blown … 17/36 to Letchworth.
It is a sign of how far this Letchworth team has come that the players expressed disappointment in the way they had played, despite a bonus point away victory. Ruislip supporters on the other hand felt this was probably their best performance of the season, and they had managed to field probably their strongest side of the season. Letchworth’s head coach Baz Basra also expressed his disappointment, feeling the first half was possibly the worst 40 minutes they had played all season. However he was particularly pleased with the performance of scrum half Harvey Howman, who had another outstanding game.
So next week sees a home encounter with Hampstead who will be fighting for their league future in what should be another pulsating game at Legends Lane. This will be followed by the six nations clash between England and Ireland on the big screen.
There is a league lunch from one o clock and all are welcome for a fine wining and dining experience.
Book now with Brian Burke on 07768 274037
Team from 1 :
Tate
Hughes
Turner
Wilcock
Peasnell
Day
Mongston
Allison
Howman
Johal H
Johal A (c)
Titherington
Campbell
Gurure
Gibbs
Robinson
Buchanan
Dell
