Published 22nd January 2019
Datchworth 3rd XV 29 – 31 Biggleswade 3rd XV
Following their 45-0 home win over Welwyn in the league the previous weekend, Biggleswade 3rd XV travelled to Datchworth hoping to repeat the feat, but this time in the cup.
However, after finding out that the kick-off was earlier than expected the warm up was somewhat rushed, meaning the 3s were slow coming out of the gates.
Datchworth brought a physical and attritional game- later proving to be part of their downfall- which a half-asleep 3rd team couldn’t match. Datchworth fully deserved to race into a 10-0 lead as Biggleswade were left reeling underneath the posts.
However belief in their ability to still win the game was evident and Biggleswade managed to get a try back from their first
major visit to the Datchworth 22 with Luke Fye going over which was duly converted.
Having only poked the Datchworth bear, Biggleswade were still too sloppy in the tackle and lacked the intensity which came so naturally the previous week. The team went down another two scores to leave it at 24-7.
One particular try left a sour taste in the mouth of the Biggleswade players but this served to be the shot in the arm that kicked them back into life.
After several phases lead to Biggleswade securing a penalty 5 metres out from the Datchworth line, the ball was worked wide and Jimmy Hart barged his way over in the corner. Lex Jackson, in only his third game for Biggleswade, slotted a difficult
conversion to make it 24-14, which is how it finished up at half time.
With a chance to regroup, and buoyed by their performance in the final minutes of the first half, the Langford Road outfit backed themselves to make a comeback- especially with Datchworth’s own game plan resulting in several of their players going off injured stalling their momentum.
In the second half Biggleswade showed their attacking skills and composure – the penalty count dropped and it was Datchworth who saw a player go to the bin.
Knowing the first score was vital Biggleswade hurled themselves into every collision and Ben Wischusen, who had another storming game, went over the line with Datchworth players falling by the wayside.
The next try went to Gareth Jones, who has been in excellent form over the last few games, for his second try of 2019; this came as a result of both good work in attack from both forwards and backs, leaving the scores even with 24 points each.
With the backline finding more and more gaps it was only a matter of time before Biggleswade got another score. This time it was to come from Dave Leslie who showed both a good turn of pace and running lines to evade the home defence and dot down underneath the posts to give Jimmy Hart an easy kick to make it 31-24.
In the final hectic moments it was Biggleswade who maintained their composure even when Datchworth’s fly half combined considerable skill with a lucky bounce to score. However the conversion wasn’t an easy one and in the end sailed just wide of the posts.
In the end Biggleswade showed tenacity to get the result overall they deserved. In particular a defensive spell on their own try line will serve as a reminder of the intensity needed to win big matches.
Next week the 3rds are back in league action away to Cheshunt 3rd XV were they will hope to improve on the 12-0 defeat they suffered earlier in the season.
Biggleswade 3rd XV: M Peace, J Unite, M Salter, O Lattimer, J Martin, T Harding, D White, S Rutt; J Woodfield, J Hart, G Jones, D Leslie, Luke F, L Jackson, O Vagg. Replacements: D Tysom, M Cowley, B Wischusen, D Dawes.
Tries: L Fye, J Hart, B Wischusen, G Jones, D Leslie
Cons: L Jackson (2), J Hart (1)
