Men’s Rugby team reach final of Cuppers with convincing victory over Hertford

Thanks to captain Tom Lawrence for the following match report:

Last Monday, 23rd April, Teddy Hall took on Hertford in the Cuppers (inter-college competition) semi-final at Oxford Rugby Club.

Teddy Hall kicked off and immediately piled on the pressure with some big shots in defence. Playing with the wind Hertford found relief in their kicking game, which gave them some good territory in the opening stages. However, they were not able to turn territory into points. Teddy Hall broke the deadlock after about 10 minutes when a few phases of quick ball, generated by strong carries from the pack, created space in the back line for Greg Neal-Smith to break through and find fellow centre Xan Gilmour who scored in the corner.

Finding success in the breakdown, Hertford won some important penalties to prevent the Hall building any momentum. This allowed them to get back into the game with a penalty in front of the posts to make the score 5-3. A rare mistake then resulted in a penalty which Teddy Hall kicked into the corner. A good catch and drive maul led to captain Tom Lawrence going over the whitewash to make the score 12-3. The Hall ended the half well but good defence kept them out. SEHRFC went into half time ahead.

In the second half Hertford began to tire, and some fresh impetus off the bench meant that Teddy Hall began to find some space. The forwards carried over from close range to make the score 17-3. Man of the match, fly-half Tom Dyer, was able to distribute the ball around the pitch to find space in the wide channels with wide men Dan Barley, Jack Fagan and Sam Henson all scoring tries. Overall the final result was 48-3.

Despite this being one of Teddy Hall’s furthest away games, the support from the crowd was as good as ever, and helped provide that extra edge.

The final is a 17:30 kick off this Saturday (28th April) at Iffley Road. This is against a strong St Peter’s team, who beat Jesus 43-14 in the other semi. The stage is set for what looks to be a great game. Supporters very welcome!