Letchworth 33-12 Hampstead

All good sides can mix it up, and this Letchworth win had as much to do with their dominance in the scrum and maul as it did their speed and handling in attack.

It was a fine and sunny day at Legends Lane but the wind was strong, and Letchworth were playing in to it in the first half. A few minutes in to the game and it already had an impact, with an attempted box kick clearance near the Letchworth line ending up going backwards.

Hampstead were the quickest to react and claimed the catch, dotting the ball down near the left touchline for the game's first try. 0-5 as the conversion was missed. Though these two sides are at opposite ends of the table there is no such thing as an easy game in this league, and this was a reminder for Letchworth that they could afford no complacency.

Sniping runs at the breakdown from Hampstead's scrum half were to be a constant threat, and after 10 minutes he was nearly through for Hamsptead's second. But Letchworth's defence stood strong and he was brought down just short and Letchworth cleared their lines.

A few minutes later and Letchworth were on the attack. Some great handling saw Luke Mongston burst in to the line, and he fed fellow back rower Joe Allison who touched down near the left hand post. The conversion was good, 7-5 to Letchworth.

Letchworth now started to play open, attractive rugby involving forwards and backs. Stand in prop Brendan Hunt made a great break over the halfway line and he fed burly second rower Martin Day who was on the charge, but when he was brought down he was isolated and the attack came to nothing.

Hunt had an excellent game, and you can pay him no higher compliment than to say he did not look out of place alongside the ever outstanding Oscar Robinson and 'Rambo' Hughes. Letchworth are blessed to have such talented front rowers to call upon.

Hampstead's kicking game was making good use of the strong wind, and on the half hour mark they were awarded a penalty which they chose to kick for goal.

Though central it was a long way out, and the kick was missed. A few minutes later and an outstanding 50:22 kick lead to a Hampstead line out on Letchworth's 5m line. But again Letchworth's defence rose to the challenge, and a promising attacking opportunity came to nothing.

The wind was no doubt a factor in Letchworth's faltering lineouts, so they started to keep it simple and had much more success throwing it short, invariably to returning skipper Liam Fitts. Fitts was not only excellent in the lineout but barely missed a tackle all afternoon.

A Letchworth lineout in Hampstead's 22 lead to a rolling maul which eventually broke down by the 5m line, and a hand in at the resulting ruck lead to a Letchworth penalty. Starting to sense their superiority up front, Letchworth chose to scrum.

Number 8 Allison picked and went and was brought down just short, but scrum half Harvey Howman – who this season has been playing some of the best rugby of his career – was on hand to pick up and score to the left of the posts in the last play of the half. The conversion was good, so at half time it was 14-5 in Letchworth's favour.

Letchworth started the second half well and the first 10 minutes were spent in Hampstead's half. However handling errors as much as Hampstead's defence kept Letchworth out.

But Letchworth's scrummaging was beginning to dominate, and Hampstead were penalised at successive scrums in their own 22 as they were pushed back closer and closer to their own try line.

The third offence proved to be the most costly as the ref awarded a penalty try, a just reward for outstanding scrummaging by the Letchworth forwards. 21-5 to Letchworth.

Letchworth's dominance in scrum and maul meant that every penalty was now going Letchworth's way, but with ball in hand Hampstead always looked threatening. With Letchworth down to 14 men – Martin Day was yellow carded for a headlock – Hampstead took full advantage and scored a converted try to make it 21-12 with 10 minutes to go.

Colts captain Josh Staddon had been introduced on the wing for his second appearance in the first fifteen, and quick hands after a bullocking run by Hughes saw him go over in the left corner for his first senior try, much to the delight of supporters and team mates alike. A brilliant conversion by fly half Hem Johal made it 28-12.

This Letchworth team always looks to attack whether it's the first or the last minute, and a lineout and maul lead to try scoring machine 'Rambo' Hughes notching another with the final play of the game, which went unconverted. So five tries and a final score of 33-12 in another bonus point win for Letchworth.

Head coach Baz Basra praised the maturity of his team afterwards and although it was by no means their best performance, they chose to play to their strengths in destroying the Hampstead set piece. He told his backs it was grunt and push not dainty dancing feet that won the day.

Next week sees the climax of the Six Nations so there is no game. Letchworth's next match is away to Enfield on March 26 before the final crunch match with Old Priorians on the last day of the season.