Tomorrow we visit Datchworth, a club that we have never previously met at 1st XV level, for the second round of the RFU’s national Counties 2 Championship. Datchworth are currently 6th in Counties 2 Herts, three places above our neighbours, having won one and lost one. We are fourth in Counties 2 Midlands East (South), having won four and lost one. We will be looking to build on an impressive performance last Saturday, when we were perhaps unlucky to have a try disallowed at the death.
Datchworth were founded in 1969, and in the era of ‘friendlies’, struggled to get onto the fixture lists of the stronger established clubs. The Hertfordshire Cup did give them the opportunity to ruffle a few feathers, which helped them to strengthen their fixture list. When the leagues started in 1987, Datchworth were placed in Hertfordshire 2 (Level 9), and finished 6th out of 7. Our clubs first met, as far as records show, in December 1985, when our 6th XV beat their 3rd XV on what is now a nine-hole golf course, across the road from our second pitch. The result was reversed when the two teams met again in Datchworth in April 1986. The first time that Stockwood Park met Datchworth 1st XV was in November 1988, when our 2nd XV, captained by Dave Budge, beat them 38-6 at London Road. On the same day, our 4th team, captained by Pete Smith, won away to Datchworth 2s 24-0.
For those making the short trip into rural Hertfordshire tomorrow, the ground’s postcode is SG3 6TL. We look forward to seeing some of you there.