Match Reports 6th & 7th March

1st XV - Verulamians 0 vs London Scottish Lions 43

The Vees fans turned out in numbers for this Bottom vs Top of the Table clash with London Scottish despite the bitterly cold weather!

Upon arrival at Cotlandswick, the athletes of London Scottish were performing a very extensive warm up for a good 45 minutes before the game, but despite this both sides started out strongly with Vees resistance holding firm, with excellent kicking from Harry Mack relieving some of the territorial pressure the Vees were facing.

Unfortunately for Vees, the weather contributed to some individual errors and a couple of tries and conversions were scored before the end of the first half.

The second half the Vees started to exert some territorial pressure back, but Harpenden always looked dangerous on the break, and with some key players succumbing to injuries and a Sin Bin for our side meant London Scottish continued to score.

Despite the score line it was a strong performance from a depleted Vees squad and they should be proud of their performances.

Under 15s - Vees 0 vs Barnet Elizabethans 19 - Hertfordshire Plate Semi Final

On another incredibly chilly day, the Vees Under 15s took on a strong Barnet side in a cup semi final. Our large squad arrived in their shirt and ties, and ready for battle!

Despite the score, it was an evenly contested game with great performances from both sides, with the Barnet fans commenting on what a strong side The Vees were. It was a good defensive performance from the Vees with great tackling, rucking and mauling defending their territory with strong individual performances also.

Unfortunately, Barnet were able to break through and convert some opportunities to make the score line an unfair reflection of the game, with Barnet going through to the final.

Well done to Vees, a great performance they should be proud of, and we’ll done to Barnet for a great performance and good luck in the final!

Under 11s - Vees vs Harpenden

A chilly Sunday morningat Vees saw the u11s welcome two strong A squads from Harpenden. It was a tough morning for our lads against very well drilled and organised opposition. When in possession and playing on what were fairly narrow pitches both our teams found themselves facing a seemingly impenetrable black and white defensive line. However rather than look to take on this line we too often opted to run sideways which made us easier targets for their aggressive tackling.  At times both V’s teams had purple patches of play, both rucking and recycling quickly and drawing defenders and offloading effectively but the opposition try line was elusive for much of the games .. often being tackled out of touch as we neared it or losing possession to very effective rip tackles. Raymond returned this week after a week out and continued where he left off at Barnet putting in some strong tackles, whilst Alfie utlised his strength well when given the opportunity to protect the ball in rucks. Harry bustled with energy, always one of the first at the breakdown and threatened with the ball in hand. Ali was on hand to pick up several loose balls to get the Vees going again and Alex used his pace to good effect to prevent a number of Harpenden breakaway runs. Credit to the lads though who kept playing to the final whistle, giving their all when it must have seemed like an uphill battle. 

Trophies - Patrick was awarded TREDS/Player of the Week trophy for a strong defensive display as well as causing Harpenden headaches with his swerves and sidesteps in attack and grabbing at least one of our hard earned tries. Thomas won Tackler of the week for a resolute defensive display. He covered lots of ground, made several timely tackles and was quickest to the breakdown on a number of occasions ensuring we secured the ball with some technically effective rucking. Last but by no means least Aaron (W) won the TREDS trophy for a strong all round display. Despite taking some studs to a knee at the end of Game 1 Aaron played on determinedly for the team continuing to get stuck in, passing away quickly from the breakdown and marshalling the defence.