Hertfordshire's U23 XV made a successful debut against county opposition when it beat Middlesex U23 in an entertaining match at Old Albanian RFC on Wednesday, April 4th. The side was a good cross section of young Hertfordshire talent, containing a couple experienced a full County caps an players through the age groups to some current U19s.

The Herts forwards blended well and the scrummaging produce at least four strikes against the head. In the loose Phil Pearson (Letchworth) and Josh Corcoran (Hertford) caught the eye, but there were other unsung heroes. The backs thrived on good ball, with the experienced Gareth Lewis (Stevenage Town) and Mark Evans (Old Albanian) showing their paces and it was good to welcome back the likes of James Rea (Bishop's Stortford) to Hertfordshire colours.

The Home side took and early lead through a Jack Reilly (Tabard) penalty and then extended it when Lewis intercepted on his own 22 and sprinted the length of the field to score. Reilly converted and Herts were 10-0 up after just 6 minutes. Middlesex soon bounced back and from a forward drive, prop Ben Ambrose scored. He added a second try a few minutes later when he was driven over from a line out catch and drive. This time Jake Smyth added the conversion and the visitors were in the lead, 12-10. Herts then regained the lead when Pearson took the ball on the burst and scored under the posts giving Reilly an easy conversion. The score remained at 17-12 until, deep into injury time, Evans broke 40 metres out and sprinted over for an unconverted try.

The opening minutes of the second half appeared to put the match beyond Middlesex's reach. In the second minute, Pearson made a break from loose play and put Rea in for a try that Reilly converted. Then minutes later, Herts won a strike against the head, Lewis made a fine break and Joe Clarke (Bishop's Stortford) was over in the corner. Multiple replacements disrupted the pattern of the game somewhat, but eventually Middlesex got back into a scoring position and Dan Parkinson was driven over the line, Smyth adding the conversion. With the home team down to 14 men through a yellow card, the visitor's revival continued and from a line out they drove Louie Edwards over the line to narrow the gap to 10 points. However Herts had the last word when Pearson scored his second try from broken play, to make the final score 39-24.

Hertfordshire: Joe Clarke (Bishop's Stortford); James Rea (Bishop's Stortford), Gareth Lewis (Stevenage Town), Johan Rheeder (Fullerians), Craig Hale (Bishop's Stortford); Jack Reilly (Tabard), Mark Evans (Old Albanian); William Freestone (Welwyn), Simon Greenhall (Bishop's Stortford), Ollie Wakefield (Letchworth), Phil Pearson (Letchworth), Dave Orton (Welwyn), Josh Corcoran (Hertford), Michael Winter (Hertford), Dan Henderson (Harpenden)

Replacement (all used): Steve Mahoney (Letchworth), Paul Grainger (Hemel Hempstead), Craig Bailey (Hemel Hempstead), George Jackson (Hemel Hempstead), Callum Bryce (Letchworth), David McKenzie (Hemel Hempstead), Jon Childs (Welwyn)