2nds Romp to Victory

The summer weather may be fizzling out, but nobody had told Tring 2s, as the home side served up several pitchers of calypso rugby on Saturday. Boasting a solid pack and a lightning fast backline, Tring promised to deliver a statement of intent to their league rivals. Tring were fortunate enough to welcome JP, Byfield, Max and Flanagan to a side that had won 3 on the bounce, and Tinkerman Boniface adjusted the side accordingly. The home side began well-enough, and after only a few minutes of play a streaking blindside break from Briggenshaw released Byfield who gave Letchworth a precursor to how dangerous he can be. This set the pattern of the first half, with Tring essentially setting up camp in the Letchworth end, only to be thwarted by some stoic defence and a sprinkling of impatience. Byfield’s finish (his first of three) was simply brilliant. Not just the finish, but the approach play, which saw two or three phases of play. Tring’s ability to play on the game line, and dominate the collisions allowed the backs to play with a level of panache that Letchworth couldn’t live with. It would be tedious of me to describe each of the tries scored over the 80minutes of scintillating rugby, but essentially the game became an opportunity to showcase our considerable talent across 1-18. All of the Tring boys contributed nicely to the game, patterns worked well and Mitchell weighed in with a drop goal*, finally enabling him to get a large, metaphorical monkey off his back. Scores came at regular intervals, with the video analysis far superior at showing you the how, what and why.

From the rafters, my personal highlights included;
• Flanagan’s physicality (with and without the ball), with an example of the former evident by a fend sending their second row back at least 6 feet.
• Hicks with his unerring ability to tackle with his face (only) and repeating this process until the opposition surrender.
• Richardson in the coal-face with a display that defies his position. Unbelievable physicality allied to deft handling and offloading, a complete performance on Saturday.
• Will Mitchell’s calm and poise (and hair), silky throughout the full 80 and putting us in the places we should be playing, and his goal kicking (c. 75%)
• JP because I have a crush on him.
• We didn’t concede a try.
• Our thirst for tries, when it would have been easier to take the foot off.

My personal lowlights:
• Jack Draper’s lack of beard. A sad day for the facial hair fanatics amongst us. This needs a comeback. Immediately, if not sooner.
• Rose’s injury – he was (again) a monster on Saturday in attack (true story) and in defence.
• Dan Bon (Coach and Pitchero’s largest shareholder) not showering. A real shame for all concerned.
• Flanagan being shot by a sniper from the trees behind the sticks. A brutal, unjust attack.
• The cost of tea at the club; £1.50 for essentially a bag of leaves, milk and a spoonful of sugar.
Payne-Train’s Culinary Review
“A passable impression of sweet & sour chicken by our Head Chef. For me, the sauce should be slightly more viscous, which would help offset the white basmati rice it was served with (a tad overcooked). Difficult comparison against Bishop Stortford’s chicken tikka masala, which was world class”.

MOTM:
Byfield