On Sunday 12th December Hampstead u13s played their Middx /Herts League match against Tring RFC. With Hampstead Heath pitches being unplayable, we scrambled around to find an alternative venue. Eventually we found a pitch at Mill Hill School, though whether this was actually playable is debatable.

The conditions resulted in lots of dropped balls and missed tackles on both sides. However, after no scores in the first quarter, Hampstead had a strong second quarter and scored four tries through our wings with two each for Rufus and Atlas.

Unfortunately, after that early purple patch, we then lost our intensity and tried to play too much fancy rugby. I think a relevant quote from a recent article on the rugby-pass website about the All Black's losses to South Africa and England applies; "An intellectual dislike of straight, hard running seems to exist within the New Zealand game. It’s as if we feel there’s a moral superiority to wanting to finesse our way through or around teams, rather than confront them head-on."

When the awful conditions called for hard, straight runs from our bigger ball carriers around the breakdown and through the middle to keep the opposition honest and tie in their main tacklers, instead we tried to play our passing game and often crabbed sideways. This led to knock-ons, lost possession and being caught behind the gain-line.

At the same time Tring were a very good side, and we probably under-estimated them (as coaches and as players). Tring's tackling was strong and they played the conditions very well; kicking more to relieve pressure, strong straight running and safer shorter passes.

So having lost our focus and possibly thinking that the game was already won at half time, we stopped committing numbers to the breakdown and Tring mounted a superb come-back as the ground became muddier and the ball became very difficult to handle.

Tring then clawed back two tries in the third quarter and two more in the last quarter to level the score.

It is also worth remembering that, despite the issues with the mud and slippery ball, Tring scored all their tries out wide and often from long distance by using shorter passes, safe offloads, and straighter running lines.

At the end of play, Tring were in the ascendant and Hampstead did well to close out the game with a draw.

Nevertheless, plenty of points for us to work on that will make the team better and more rounded. What can't be faulted is the tremendous effort that the players put in for the entire game.

Olly Williams is our HERO OF THE MATCH. Olly tackled strongly and led the close contact forward play with his rucking and ball carrying. He often turned over opposition ball through his counter rucking and secured our own possession.

Special mentions to Oscar Z and James for their tackling and Eliel for his fielding of the kicks over.

In the end it was an excellent match, with both sides playing good rugby despite the conditions. The final score was 20-20, ie 4 tries each. A bit of a wake up call with plenty to build upon.

Rhys