Welwyn As vs Fullerians Bs

Both teams were forced to shore up depleted squads (due to absences at half term): Fullerians supplemented their team with U11s, Welwyn with U13s. Even had this not been the case, Welwyn were a much bigger team than Fullerians, and we knew that our Bs forwards were going to have a tough day.

Fullerians lost the first two games fairly comprehensively, but showed great heart not to let their heads go down. On the whole, we were unable to win lineouts or scrums, and the backs were starved of ball.

Tackling was a problem. Huge forwards thundering at you is never a nice prospect, but some of the boys will look back on those first two games and know they could have been braver and more committed.

We had a big team talk before the third game, and pointed out that we did not want to leave Welwyn knowing we had not given our best. The team got into a huddle and pumped each other up.

A different team took to the pitch.

Rucking, tackling and passing were excellent in game three, and before we knew what was going on, Fullerians were 2-0 up, and the opposition looked a little shellshocked. It didn't last long, and a well-drilled Welwyn side came back at us with big forwards charging up the middle and making some very intelligent offloads to hard-running support runners (nice to watch). The match was soon levelled at 2-2. However, Fullers weren't finished. Another great try from the sublime runner that is Colm Finnegan, making it 3-2. But the win wasn't to be. Welwyn scored another equaliser, and the game finished at 3-3.

Players deserving a special mention:

Harry Martin - At every ruck and breakdown. Showed a big heart and made some very good tackles.

Harry Scully - Some good support runs in the loose. Worked hard for his team.

Harrison and Sam - Continue to make a good centre partnership. Both showed great enthusiasm and heart, and link well in attack and defence.

Jamie and Nathan - Played well despite not seeing much ball. Nathan was very brave in the tackle against much bigger opponents.

Colm Finnegan - STAR PLAYER - What can you say about this guy's first outing for Fullerians? Superb running led to some great tries, and his abilities and skills were commented on by a number of the Welwyn coaches and supporters. In defence he was strong and brave, and didn't let himself or his teammates down.

I'd finally like to give a HUGE special mention to Josh D, Joe, Josh Y, Finlay and Rhyse of the U11s who came along to play with us. All of these boys were tremendous, and the bravery of Josh D and Rhyse in particular (tackling players who were far bigger than them over and over again) deserve all the plaudits heaped upon them on Sunday.