Sat 4 Mar 2023
With Letchworth already crowned league champions this trip to Stowmarket had the potential for an upset as the hosts are battling for their lives to avoid relegation. Come the final whistle both teams had cause to celebrate, Letchworth with another bonus point victory on the road and Stowmarket with two bonus points which could prove vital in their fight to stay up. Letchworth are now 15 points clear of their nearest rivals at the top of the league and their remarkable unbeaten run continues, now standing at 36.
Letchworth dominated the early exchanges and were 0 – 12 up after 15 minutes. For their first score Letchworth went through the phases to pile the pressure on the Stowmarket defence before Tom Lewis, playing at lock rather than his customary no. 8, made a decisive break before the ball went through the hands to flying winger Chris Gibbs who went over in the right corner for an unconverted try. Soon after Lewis, who was feeling unwell, was replaced by burly warrior Adam Amos in the second row.
Excellent handling also led to the second try, the ball finding its way to Rick Streets who made a great break before feeding fellow centre Will Titherington with an inside pass to go over under the sticks. Fly half Josh Sharp made no mistake with the conversion.
Again Letchworth’s excellent scrummaging was a feature of this match. Stowmarket’s first good attacking opportunity saw them have the put in at a scrum that was both central and well inside Letchworth’s half, but a great shove by the Legend’s pack resulted in a penalty against Stowmarket and the danger was over.
Two of Stowmarket’s stand out players then combined to get them on the scoreboard. Big number 8 Matthew Edison made a great break and it was second rower Alastair Vivian providing the support, receiving an inside pass before outpacing the remaining Letchworth defenders to touch down. The extras couldn’t be added so the score stood at 5 – 12.
Stowmarket’s confidence was growing and minutes later they tried to play their way out of their 22, but it was to prove costly. Letchworth were aggressive in defence and the ever alert Titherington intercepted to sprint over and give Sharp another easy conversion to extend Letchworth’s lead to 5 – 19.
Stowmarket then went close, getting to within 5m of Letchworth’s try line only to knock on at the breakdown. A period of scrappy play from both sides then followed, most notable for allowing Letchworth to continue to show their dominance in the scrum after a number of handling errors by both sides.
As half time approached Letchworth put together a good phase of possession, but an attempted offload was intercepted and Stowmarket flooded through the defence to put in number 8 Matthew Edison to score on the stroke of half time, which also went unconverted. So at half time Letchworth led 10 – 19.
Stowmarket had the first significant attack of the second half, a great break by the open side flanker finding lock Alastair Vivian, again providing excellent support before being taken down in the left corner. At the breakdown Legend’s captain Liam Fitts was yellow carded for killing the ball. With Stowmarket deep inside Letchworth’s 22 and Legends down to 14 men this looked like an excellent opportunity for the home side, but Letchworth dug deep and their defensive resilience was rewarded with a penalty.
Letchworth then had three opportunities to increase their lead. First another great break by Streets set up Titherington to sprint for the left corner but he lost the ball forward when taken down by a last ditch tackle. Then Josh Sharp made a break after a Letchworth scrum just inside the Stowmarket 22, and the ball was spread left but what seemed a certain try went begging after a handling error. And number 8 Sonny Ma’asi showed tremendous strength and determination to power his way through numerous defenders and over the whitewash, only for the referee to rule it out for moving after being taken to ground.
However it wasn’t long before Letchworth did extend their lead. After another scrum inside Stowmarket’s 22, Ma’asi picked after a great shove by the pack and he fed scrum half Harvey Howman to ferret over in the right corner for Letchworth’s bonus point try. Whilst scoring Howman picked up a knock and had to leave the field of play, Chris Gibbs replacing him at scrum half. Sharp couldn’t convert so it was now 10 – 24 in Legend’s favour.
Soon after Letchworth extended their lead still further. Again aggressive defence whilst Stowmarket attempted to get out of their own half allowed Letchworth to win possession, and the ball was spread through the hands to Streets who ran a great line to power his way over in the right corner for Letchworth’s fifth try. An excellent conversion by Sharp took the score to 10 – 31.
From the re-start Stowmarket’s winger won the ball after a great chase and leap and as soon as his feet touched the ground he sprinted for the try line, a tackle by Titherington bringing him down just short. But the opportunity was not lost as Stowmarket re-cycled quickly and spread the ball right to go over in the corner. A great conversion made it 17 – 31.
Stowmarket now had their tails up and were soon on the attack again, Ma’asi receiving a yellow card for a tip tackle as Letchworth battled to keep them out. Stowmarket continued to maintain the pressure inside Letchworth’s 22 and were rewarded with a scrum from which the ball was spread left for the powerful open side flanker to go over in the corner for their bonus point try. The extras weren’t added so it was now 22 – 31.
A Sharp interception on the half-way line put replacement winger Josh Staddon on the attack, sprinting deep in to the Stowmarket half. An attempted tackle on Staddon resulted in head contact, for which the Stowmarket miscreant received a red. The penalty was kicked to the corner but from the lineout the ball was held up in the maul and Stowmarket had won a scrum from which they cleared their lines.
With time nearly up and 9 points down it was very unlikely Stowmarket could win the game, but to get within 7 points to secure another bonus point was certainly within their grasp. They competed ferociously and at a counter ruck inside Letchworth’s half that man Alastair Vivian picked up and cantered through to score under the posts, the full time whistle being blown as the conversion was made to make it 29 – 31.
And so onto the final act of a dramatic season with Legends facing a much improved Thurrock side at home on Saturday 11th March 3 pm. The final questions will then be answered … can they secure first place with over 100 points? … and will the unbeaten record remain intact for the 2022/3 season?
Lunch is a sell out but there will be outside bars and barbecues for the large crowd that is expected to attend one mother of a celebration of a great year … win or lose … but if the last eighteen months are anything to go by it will be the winning that crowns it!
Team from 1:
Robinson
Hughes
Buchanan
Lewis
Wilcock
Mongston
Fitts (c)
Ma’asi
Howman
Sharp
Gurure
Streets
Titherington
Gibbs
Palmer
Reps:
Tate
Amos
Staddon
By RS
