Hertford 6 Letchworth GC 27

There were celestial smiles beaming down through the dark clouds and torrents of rain at the end of this historic encounter between these old rivals.

They belonged to the shades of the likes of Copper Brown and Graham " Boss " Walker whose dream was that Letchworth should be up in the echelons of the likes of Hertford against whom the Garden City had had many a torrid encounter over the past ninety years but sadly not recently.

On Sunday that dream which Walker had sowed the seeds towards the end of his too shortened life came to fruition as under ex Hertford coach Baz Basra Legends swept away the home side in a superb performance especially the second half after some words from Basra at half time. 

Indeed the chirruping Hertford commentary that was so omnipresent in the first half was noticeably silenced by the Letchworth defence which refused to let the hosts cross their whitewash. Basra awarded two men of the match … skipper Fitts for his outstanding tackling and Josh Sharp for his overall generalship.

For the travelling faithful this was a joyous day but as President Brian Burke put it …". It was great to be back in the fold with our greatest rivals … a club we have always admired and with whom we have always had a great relationship."

The sun shone at the outset as Letchworth took the game to Hertford. Sharp kicked deep and Letchworth won good ball which nearly saw Chris Gibbs over . The pack with new boy Llewelyn Jones to the fore were dominant and from a lineout a great catch and drive saw bespectacled prop Ben Wilkinson over for the first score which Sharp converted. 

It was a bad restart for Letchworth which yielded up a penalty converted by Lewie Kendrick. 

Letchworth had another chance of a catch and drive that didn't come off and the Hertford Centre Rudling who was always a danger nearly made a length of the field try only to be brought down by Charlie Parkhouse who had another fine game at full back. Another Hertford attack yielded a simple penalty for Kendrick but this was the last time they were to trouble the scoreboard. Having had a quiet period Legends suddenly sprung into life with Oscar Robinson making a pulsating run down the pitch … more centre than prop even selling a dummy in the process before hearing a call on his shoulder to pass to Parkhouse who scooted in for a great try with Sharp adding the extras to make it 6/14 at the break. 

With conditions worsening as the teams kicked off Hertford had an early attack but solid defence especially from skipper Fitts and Mongston kept them at bay . Another penalty from Sharp drilled deep into the red zone saw another superb drive and the Letchworth forwards piled over for another score with Robinson at the end of it though as he later said credit for the work should go to Luke Mongston.

Sharp narrowly missed the kick and Hertford though down were far from out as they pressed the Letchworth defence which again stood firm. Again the pack with new boy Max Heathman to the fore drove Hertford back and Harvey Howman made the most of good ball to break through the line. He fed Charlie Parkhouse and the former darling of Hertford… though always a Legend …. broke through three tackles to make the decisive score. 

All credit to the Hoe Lane boys .. they never gave up and threw everything at Letchworth but in a performance reminiscent of games against Manor HAC and Southend last season Letchworth were magnificent in defence and as a final thrust the pack set up a great platform for the imperious Sharp to drop the sweetest of goals to end the contest and set Letchworth hearts a singing all the way to Legends Lane 

Superb sportsmanship from both Hertford players and supporters alike ensured that this was indeed a proud day for Hertfordshire rugby …… Job done Boss and YES it did all pan out !! 

 Next week is a break due to the World Cup final but Letchworth are home to Shelford on November 4 

There is a league lunch beforehand 

All diners phone Les Wilsher on 07827373937

Team from 1 

Robinson 

Hughes K 

Wilkinson

Peasnell 

Jones 

Mongston 

Fitts 

Lewis 

Howman 

Sharp

Gibbs 

Titherington 

Streets 

Staddon 

Parkhouse 

Hughes T

Wilcock 

Heathman