Saturday 22nd February 2003

Old Alleynians 28 Hitchin 7

Powergen Junior Vase - Quarter Final

The club returned to it's winning ways in this hard fought match on the back of two league defeats.

The blues started well, playing into the sun, against a strong Hitchin pack and were able to get the first points on the board from a penalty by Tim Sandars.

Hitchin responded with a converted try following some hard scrummaging and driving mauls. Some good runs by the backs saw the Alleynians get close to the line on several occasions, only to fall at the last hurdle in this high pressure game. Sandars' boot once again found another 3 points from a penalty to take the score to 6-7.

The first Alleynian try was eventually found from a solid team effort, Easter touching down and the try duly converted by Sandars. Before half time Marcus Whyte added 5 points to the scoreboard taking the home side 18-7 into half time.

The second half saw yet more solid play from the Alleynians, and a great move saw the home side come close to scoring, to be denied by a penalty. The three points were readily accepted though, to stretch the lead to 14 points.

The last try of the day came from another good break by Whyte who offloaded to fly-half Tim Sandars to score and then add the conversion to bring the score to 28-7.

Hitchen played to the last, and a long series of defensive kicks saw a number or lineouts being contested. John Nurse performed particularly well in this area, often snatching the ball from the opposition throw. Matt Vale worked hard in the loose and the entire pack put every effort into rucks and mauls. The backs were led by scrum half Tim Dux, who commanded a great performance, forcing the pace throughout the game. Some lovely jinking breaks from Parkes and Joy confused the Hitchin defence on several occasions.

All in all this was a great day for the club; a performance to be proud of, a big crowd and a return to the use of the main bar for the first time since the fire in January. We await the semi at home against Bradford Salem on 15th March with anticipation.