Normal Service Resumed ...

For the first half-hour the game was even as both defences were good. Barnes took an early lead with penalties kicked by fullback Gower and Hertford missed two kicks at goal. Just after Walters kicked the visitors first points Barnes regained their restart and put together the first good sequence of possession; they were turned over after 9 phases. Hertford scored the first try to take the lead after 25 minutes. A penalty kicked to touch got them a line-out 14 metres out and at it their pack set for a drive and after advancing a bit and a rearrangement they released wide and their three-quarters got quick ball wide to create a very good try; wing Crompton broke through and fed inside centre Sloan who went over at the far corner.

Barnes responded well to this; a high restart was regained and they put together their second very good sequence of phases to get their first try without the opposition having a sniff of the ball. Varied recycling through many hands then a switch of play by scrumhalf Reeves and two more recycles gave Williams-Davies a chance to break then three more recycles followed by a basketball pass to lock Chance who touched down at the corner 3 1/2 minutes after the opposition try. Barnes 2nd try was similar to Hertford’s 1st; a penalty took Barnes to their line-out 15 metres out and they scored their second try from it. This time they released wide immediately and after five recycles chipped to the corner; centre Jones got the ball then after two more recycles Reeves went for the line near the posts. This 4 1/2 minutes since the previous try. Gower added. Barnes lost a man for 10 minutes shortly before halftime. Walters missed another kick at goal before the halftime whistle.

Hertford started the second half well and got deep into the opposition half. From an attacking scrum they kept the ball tight, recycling three times, the second to a forward standing out then wide and wing Lemon made yards before sending centre Smart over near the corner after 3 minutes. Walter's conversion was pretty good but unlucky, hitting the near post and staying out. Gower kicked another penalty at 10 minutes. Barnes secured the restart and set off attacking; From a scrum 6 metres out Williams-Davies launched a nearly lateral kick ahead for fullback Gower to run onto; he sidestepped the only defender near him to touch down then convert his try at 15 minutes.

The restart ball seemed to bounce off the shoulder of a Barnes' forward; Hertford got it and advanced well. The ball was recycled to replacement lock Corcoran who beat a man then passed wide to send Lemon to the corner, 2 minutes after the previous try. A very good kick from Walters made it 28 - 20. Givens got the shortish restart and went on, this led to another 3 points kicked by Gower at the start of the final quarter. Hertford's pack under pressure conceded a penalty at a scrum. This was kicked for a line-out just inside their opponents' 22. Their drive went down and they recycled tight four times before lock Chance got a run. The Ref. raised his arm then let play go on and Givens went over with 10 minutes to go. Gower added. Another penalty followed soon after the restart and was kicked for another line-out, inside the 22. From that and three tight recycles ball was got to centre Jones then tireless no. 8 Taylor fed Hersey for Dumbleton to finish wide-out less than 4 minutes after the previous try. Gower again added with a very good conversion.

Surprisingly warmer than recently at the start; no wind; the pitch soft-ish and looking a bit rough.

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Traditional longer report =>

The visitors secured the kick-off and returned an up-and-under; four more kicks followed leading to the first line-out for the home team not far into the opposition half. Two close recycles then one wider claimed the first penalty that was kicked for another line-out 10 metres from Hertford's try-line. The forwards set for a drive then this soon went down and when the ball was recycled to centre the visitors conceded their second penalty. Inside 3 minutes, this was easily kickable and Gower was asked to take the points. The restart wasn't cleanly dealt with but Barnes got the games' first scrum then another penalty when Hertford had started to wheel it. Of course this was kicked for a line-out into the other half but it that was stolen by the visitors. Hertford kicked for territory and Barnes cleared to touch. The visitors got a free-kick before the throw-in and chose to have a scrum; Barnes got a free-kick at that and 10 more metres for chat. Now they too chose a scrum, this at halfway. Two recycles after that they were penalised for not releasing. Hertford's kick got them a line-out just inside the opposition 22. Their drive broke up with the defence seeming to avoid committing forwards against it and this got the visitors a kickable penalty at 10 minutes and Walters obliged.

Barnes regained their restart and put together the first good sequence of possession; they were turned over after 9 phases and Sargent cleared with a good kick to touch. Barnes took a quick throw-in then were immediately penalised. Walters tried from long range but wasn't close. Barnes kicked long from hand and this was dropped by a Hertford player and the opposition got it and advanced strongly into the visitors' 22. The ball was recycled to lock Dumbleton who made yards and after one more recycle the defence was penalised 6 metres out in front of the posts after 15 minutes and Gower was against asked to kick. The restart ball was fed to Gower who sent it back for a line-out at the opposition 22. This wasn't taken easily and fly-half Walters had to clear it to touch at the same place. Barnes’ drive from the line-out started well but broke up and was followed by a turnover. Hertford kicked ahead then were penalised after the ball was caught by Barnes. The next kick got the home team a line-out 11 metres out. When the drive broke up they got another penalty and put this into touch 8 metres out. The drive went down and ball was recycled to centre Hersey who got to the line but not over. The defence held after one more recycle, tight, and got a 5-metre scrum put-in. Barnes started to wheel this and were penalised when a flanker came around too early. Hertford's touch kick left them still well inside their own half. After keeping ball close from the line-out they opted for an up-and-under which the opposition dropped and resulted in a kickable penalty 27 metres out at 25 minutes; Walters missed.

Gower ran the ball and fly-half Williams-Davies kicked for territory. The visitors ran this back and were awarded another penalty for an accidental high-tackle. The kick for this got them a line-out 14 metres out and at it their pack set for a drive and after advancing a bit and a rearrangement they released wide and their three-quarters got quick ball wide to create a very good try; wing Crompton broke through and fed inside centre Sloan who went over at the far corner after 25 minutes for the game's first try and the lead. The conversion was wide. Barnes responded well to this; a high restart was regained and they put together their second very good sequence of phases to get their first try without the opposition having a sniff of the ball. Varied recycling through many hands then a switch of play by scrumhalf Reeves and two more recycles gave Williams-Davies a chance to break then three more recycles followed by a basketball pass to lock Chance who touched down at the corner 3 1/2 minutes after the opposition try. The conversion was wide. Reeves launched an up-and-under after the restart ball was recycled and this gained the home team a put-in 14 metres into the opposition half. The visitors were penalised at the scrum. The kick took Barnes to their line-out 15 metres out and they scored their second try from it. This time they released wide immediately and after five recycles chipped to the corner; centre Jones got the ball then after two more recycles Reeves went for the line near the posts. This 4 1/2 minutes since the previous try. Gower added. After the restart both teams tried an up-and-under; both were dealt with. Hertford then seemed to intercept a wide ball from Barnes and right after got a penalty and a 10 minute man advantage. This was a halfway; they kicked for a line-out, still outside the opposition 22 then were penalised soon after the line-out. Now Barnes kicked for a line-out just past halfway then had their line-out stolen. Two turnovers followed; the visitors recycled three times before forcing a penalty. From 10 metres into the half Walters' kick was just wide of the posts before the whistle.

Barnes responded to the second half restart with an up-and-under that the visitors dealt with comfortably and then they put together a much better sequence of phases than they had been able to do in the first half. Mostly using their three-quarters they recycled nine times before Givens forced a turnover then a Barnes' player was forced into touch 10 metres from his own team's goal line. The home team won another turnover soon after the line-out but soon dropped the ball. Hertford kept the ball tight from the scrum, recycling three times, the second to a forward standing out then wide and wing Lemon made yards before sending centre Smart over near the corner after 3 minutes. Walter's conversion was pretty good but unlucky, hitting the near post and staying out. Barnes regained a restart for the third time then they too strung together a very good sequence of phases before losing possession 13 metres from the opposition try line. The home pack wheeled and were penalised. Then they stole a line-out for a change after the kick to touch and advance to just outside the 22 where Hertford got another put-in. Following the scrum three kicks were exchanged, the last out on the full by the visitors. From the line-out Barnes recycled four times with Gower coming into the line in between then after a half-break by Williams-Davies Hertford were penalised and Gower was asked to kick the points at 10 minutes. With the Sun going down it was now getting colder.

Barnes secured the restart; their no. 10 kicked for territory and the catch was dropped. From the scrum 10 metres into the opposition half they advanced to 6 metres out with good recycling to get the put-in there. From that Williams-Davies launched a nearly lateral kick ahead for fullback Gower to run onto; he sidestepped the only defender near him to touch down then convert his try at 15 minutes. The restart ball seemed to bounce off the shoulder of a Barnes' forward; Hertford got it and advanced well. The ball was recycled to replacement lock Corcoran who beat a man then passed wide to send Lemon to the corner, 2 minutes after the previous try. A very good kick from Walters made it 28 - 20. Givens got the shortish restart and went on; ball was recycled to his no. 10 who went further before passing to Hersey who chipped to the corner resulting in a Barnes' scrum 5 metres out. The home team got a free-kick at that which their pack ran then after recycling three times tried a chip through. Hertford saved but the Ref. went back to award a penalty 10 metres out for Gower to add another 3 points at the start of the final quarter.

Barnes secured the restart and kicked over then were penalised for an offside chase. The visitors kicked for a line-out not far into the other half. From that they advanced well with five recycles before being turned over; Barnes kicked to touch just outside the opposition 22. Hertford got a free-kick at the line-out and opted for a scrum. Walters at 10 tried a chip; Barnes fielded that and kept ball in hand through six phases before scrumhalf Henry chipped. The ball bounced off a Hertford player and into touch. The visitors were penalised after the line-out; this was 29 metres out and didn't look difficult but Gower scuffed it and the ball hardly took off. Hertford kicked for territory and Barnes kept ball in hand before a forced error lost them possession near halfway. Hertford's pack were under pressure at the following scrum and were penalised. Barnes kicked for a line-out just inside their opponents' 22. Their drive went down and they recycled tight four times before lock Chance got a run. The Ref. raised his arm then let play go on and Givens went over with 10 minutes to go. Gower added.

After the restart was secured he kicked the ball to touch into the other half and the visitors were penalised just after the line-out. Of course this was kicked for another line-out, inside the 22. From that and three tight recycles ball was got to centre Jones then tireless no. 8 Taylor fed Hersey for Dumbleton to finish wide-out less than 4 minutes after the previous try. Gower again added with a very good conversion. Taylor fielded the high restart and the visitors were penalised just after. Barnes then ran out of their 22 with Hersey again prominent and this move broke down for a Hertford put-in deep in their half. Now Barnes were penalised at a scrum and then marched 10 more metres back. They next stole the line-out after the kick to touch then the put-in right after that. They didn't get far before being penalised. Hertford's forwards ran this excellently and advanced recycling many times to get another penalty 32 metres out. Again they ran this only to be turned over by the defence close to the line. Barnes recycled until the whistle went.