Hackney 11 Verulamians 13

VERULAMIANS picked up a great away win at third placed Hackney.

With the Vees back to winning ways the week before, the players wanted to keep that momentum up. When the first whistle went the Vees showed how aggressive they are, with big hits especially from Luckhurst and Nicholls.

The two second rows showed their power together in the scrum as well, which was a delight for the front row.

The home team got through a lot of running but they were unable to penetrate the Vees’ defence.

An early penalty was given to Hackney who gratefully accepted the three points on offer.

From the restart the next few minutes were played in the Hackney half, with some good rucks from Matthews and Westhead and a good run from centre Atkins.

This was brought to an end at the five metre line, but with quick ball Browne picked the ball up and dummied his way past the defence to dot down. The try was not converted.

The game then turned into a messy affair. With the rain and hail coming down into the Hackney eyes, full-back Viner broke through the line of defence and passed it to Woolley who juggled with it before gathering the ball and handing off the full-back with strength to get over the whitewash. Again the try was not converted

Just before half time the home team came back with some strong running, and for the first time in the game the Vees defence was not awake, gifting the hosts a try which went unconverted to leave Vees 10-8 up at the turnaround.

From the first play in the second half, a good break from Coyle set up good ball to keep running back at Hackney. Verulamians were rewarded with a penalty just outside the Hackney 22 which Tom Crowne sent between the posts.

For the rest of the half, the two teams gave the crowd a good game to watch. Both sides produced strong tackling with both Luckhurst and John producing try-saving hits for the visitors.

Verulamians could have eased the tension with another try but the move broke down.

The Vees front five powered their way over the Hackney line, but with good play from the opposition the ball came loose and a certain try came to nothing.

With strong defence from the Vees, especially from Atkins, the next five minutes showed how much the first team have come together and they were able to hold on for a very good victory.

The Vees have proved with hard work throughout the season that they are a good team and the players are keen to maintain their recent run of good for the club’s members when they welcome Old Actonians to Cotlandswick.

Vees: Trojans, Bloomfield, John, Luckhurst, Nicholls, Coyle, Westhead, Matthews, Browne, Ricci, Waters (Crowne), Atkins, Wooley, Choppin, Viner, Reps not used Moralee, Richmond.