Manor welcomed Hertford to the New Wilderness in what was their inaugural match in the National league. Manor were hoping to get their campaign off to a winning start, but their opponents, seasoned campaigners in this league, had other ideas and by the end of the match showed Manor that the step up in the leagues was going to be a stern test for the home side.

Things started well for Manor who kicked off and Hertford gave away the first scrum by knocking the ball on. Manor had a period of attacking play just outside Hertford’s 22, where they eventually won a lineout. Jack Tovey claimed the ball feeding it to new scrum half Elliot Brown, he in turn fed the ball out along the line where Reece Reed, playing on the wing, took the ball forward at pace, he beat his opposite number and made his way into Hertford’s 22, here he jinked out and in and beat the covering fullback then sprinted over the line to score Manors first try in the National leagues. The difficult touchline conversion was successful by Callum McKie and after only 4 minutes Manor led 7-0, unfortunately this was as good as it got for Manor.

From the kick off Manor again attacked Hertford’s 22, with Brown showing a good turn of pace and Tom Bateman looking dangerous out on the wing, also making good ground, but as Manor continued to attack, a wayward pass that need not have been made was intercepted by Hertford’s No8 who had the pace to outstrip Manors covering defence and run nearly half the length of the field to score in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful but after 6 minutes Manor had gifted Hertford a try to get them on the scoresheet 7-5 after 10 minutes.

Manor continued to attack Hertford, but were met by a well organised and aggressive defence. Manor were having some joy at the lineout when Tovey stole a Hertford throw in just inside Manors half, here the ball was moved along the line to Bateman who again rounded his man and sped into Hertford’s 22, but the attack was halted when he was brought to ground and his support was penalised at the ruck allowing Hertford to clear the ball.

Hertford now began to exert pressure on the Manor defence using their hard running forwards to good effect, breaking through some unusually weak Manor tackling. As they worked their way into Manors 22, Hertford’s No4 made a break, being brought down 10 meters from the line, but his support was good and quick ball found the Hertford No12 who cruised over the line for their second try and with the conversion successful they now led 7-12 after 18 minutes.

Soon after the restart Manor were again their worst enemy when after a period of attacking play close to the Hertford 22, the ball was lost allowing Hertford to fly hack the ball forward taking it out of play just inside Manors half. With the home side determined to keep up a fast flowing game they took an ill judged quick lineout throw, this was spotted by Hertford’s No6 who intercepted the throw and ran in unopposed under the posts from 30 meters out. Manor had given away another easy 7 points and now trailed 7-19.

Herford were now in full flow, playing the game in and around Manors 22. Time and time again they pounded Manors defensive line, eventually the pressure told when Hertford’s fullback created space out wide and as he was tackled, he passed the ball out of the back of his hand to his supporting winger who scampered over the line for the visitors bonus point try. The difficult conversion was missed but after 30 minutes Manor trailed 7-24.

Manor still continued to try and play rugby, from a scrum just inside their half, the ball was secured allowing Brown to dart down the bind side outpacing the chasing defenders, he raced into Hertford’s 22 with just the fullback to beat, but was then caught from behind by Hertford’s centre and brought to ground. Whether it was for a high tackle or an infringement after the tackle, the ref deemed it necessary to yellow card the Hertford player. This allowed Manor to kick for touch, here Tovey again won the ball and when the driving maul was stopped the ball was fed out to Manors midfield where Alex Hunter and Rhys Davis-Horne both made ground. Bateman carried on the attack taking two players to stop him eventually winning a scrum for the home side. Try as they might Manor were unable to breach the Hertford defences and eventually gave a way a penalty which allowed Hertford to clear the ball into Manors half. From here Hertford eventually set up a driving maul which made 25 meters before being stopped, but the damaged had already been done and after a series of powerful forward drives Hertford’s No4 crashed over the line for another try. With the conversion good Hertford had increased their lead to 7-31 with a few minutes left to play in the half.

From the restart Manor took the game to Hertford with some good kicking out of hand from Nick Horton and some mazy running from Reed, but again their efforts came to nothing when Manor were penalised for a late tackle, this allowed Hertford to boot the ball into Manors 22. Here after winning their lineout Hertford again used their hard running forwards to good effect eventually crossing the line for the final score of the half, 7-36. During the last play Manors Jack Tovey suffered what was a potentially a serious injury and this delayed the start of the second half.

With Hertford kicking off it wasn’t long before they increased their lead when after 5 minutes of play, and after sustained pressure their No12 crossed the line and although the conversion was missed Hertford had increased their lead to 7-41.

Manor continued to fight and after a set scrum Garth Tucker drove the ball forward before feeding Mckie, he sent a cross field kick for Reed to chase into Hertford’s 22. The fullback didn’t get to the ball, allowing it to bounce this allowed Reed to pounce and gather the ball but just when it looked like he was away to score the Hertford fullback tackled Reed knocking the ball on in the process.

Hertford continued to boss the game and it wasn’t long before they worked their way into Manors 22 where from close range Hertford’s No3 crashed over the line for another converted try, 7-48 with 15 minutes of the second half played.

Manor continued to compete but things weren’t helped when both Alfie Hutcherson and Kevin Reed had to leave the field injured, this meant that with Tovey already off injured, their backrow was seriously depleted and this allowed Hertford to boss the breakdown.

For the remainder of the half Manor were on the back foot, trying to repel wave after wave of fast paced attacks from Hertford, their lines of running and offloading was first class and this lead to Hertford scoring another three try’s, one of which was converted, before the ref brought the game to a finish giving a final score of 7-65.

Manor had come up against a side that had recruited well in the summer and was very experienced at playing at this level, no doubt they will be in contention come the end of the season. Just in case anyone was unaware of the task that faces Manor this season, this game brought the message home loud and clear. There is no doubt that given some more game time, Manor will adapt to the pace of this league and improve their game management. With a lot of hard work on the training ground, performances will improve.