Rugby Union: Harpenden 18 Hertford 6

HARPENDEN took a gigantic stride towards their third consecutive league championship with a crucial victory against their number one rivals for the London Three North West title.

The win means that only a disasterous slump in form against lesser sides in the coming few weeks can stop them bringing home yet more silverware to the Redbourn Lane trophy cabinet.

Harps were made to fight all the way for the points against a Hertford side who knew after their surprise defeat by Letchworth the previous weekend that another loss would almost certainly spell the end of their cherished promotion dream.

But while Hertford enjoyed plenty of possession thanks to their impressive pack, they rarely looked like breaking through andd they could never match Harps' flair in the backs.

The match was closely fought throughout and it was not until the final few minutes when Harps scored a third try that the result was put beyond doubt.

The first half was a tense, often scrappy affair littered with mistakes as both sides attempted to stamp their authority.

Hertford went ahead on ten minutes with a penalty but after 15 minutes a kick ahead by Harps fly half Pete Stevenson was caught by right wing Nick Sinfield, who sprinted down the right touchline before lofting a pass to full back Tony Baxter, who streaked away to score.

Hertford, however, hit back with another penalty just before half-time to take a 6-5 lead into the interval.

Harps, inspired by captain Dan Phillips who was returning after a groin injury, went ahead on 56 minutes with another try by Baxter following a superbly executed planned move by the three quarters which had started with a great lineout take by lock Dave Horsley.

Stevenson added another penalty on 71 minutes and shortly before the final whistle, scrum-half Rob Humphreys, who put in another outstanding performance, maintained his try a game record when he raced round from the blind side of the scrum to score in the right-hand corner.

Coach Danny James said: "This was a cup final for us and we rose to the occasion but we can play a lot better and we are still improving.

"We must now guard against complacency.

"We've a habit in recent years of losing one game a season but I shall be doing my utmost to ensure that we win every game.

"The situation at the top is still very tight despite this result and we cannot afford to have one slip-up."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.