Hedgehogs lose to the old boys

Old Ashmoleans 19 Hitchin 8

Hitchin produced another good performance and yet still lost 19-8 to their top of the table hosts Old Ashmoleans.

With eight places separating the two sides before kick-off, Hitchin were in for a difficult game on paper.

In Saturday's downpour, Hitchin took the fight to Old Ashmoleans.

With both sides making good inroads into each other's halves, it was only strong defence that meant three points separated the two teams for 20 minutes, after a successful home penalty.

Old Ashmoleans were the first to cross the try line. Following a scrum on the Hitchin 10m, the old boys spread it wide. The conditions made handling difficult but luck was with the home side as a knock-on was missed and OAs went through to score under the posts.

Hitchin struck back with powerful forward play from the returning Sean McGinnity, Ian Charnley and man of the match Joe Benucci.

Continuous pressure from Hitchin was rewarded with a penalty outside the OAs 22, successfully kicked by Jack Peachey.

The second half saw Hitchin's pack dominating the home side, but they were unable to convert pressure into points and when OAs were awarded a penalty, the successful kick put the score at 11-3.

A momentary slip in concentration saw OAs break through a tackle and the resulting cover defence was not sufficient to keep the home side from the line. The conversion was unsuccessful.

Gaining ground into the OAs 22, more powerful forward play and scrummaging saw Hitchin produce an overlap down the blindside and a beautiful dummy from full-back Rob Willis saw him dart through the defence and score.

The hosts were awarded a penalty in the last five minutes to bring the final score to 19-8 and end an uncomfortable afternoon for the league leaders.

Other scores: Hitchin II 10 Letchworth II 30; Hitchin IV 3 Borehamwood 47.