Old Albanian vs Henley Hawks – Saturday, October 4th, kick-off 3pm
By Alistair Beynon
Henley Hawks make the comparatively short journey to Hertfordshire tomorrow when they take on the early National 2 East pacesetters, Old Albanian. It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Luke Allen’s men suffering successive home defeats at the hands of both Canterbury and Dorking, although there have been encouraging performances in both matches. However, the games don’t get any easier with a trip to the current league leaders, who have shown excellent early form. In the four games played so far this season, they have registered three wins against Bury St. Edmunds (27-19), London Welsh (33-28) along with an emphatic 87-17 drubbing of Guernsey Raiders. However, they suffered a narrow 22-21 defeat at Barnes last weekend.
In scrum half Elliot McPhun and fullback Alex Ricci, they have two of the leading points scorers in the league, and Henley will be well aware of their attacking threats on Saturday. Last season, Henley did the double on OAs, beating them 22-21 at The Woollams on the first day of the season, before a resounding 45-26 triumph at Dry Leas on the final day of the season back in April.
In terms of team news, the only change in the pack sees a deserved start for Jake Rawcliffe at Number 8. Rawcliffe impressed with his physicality when he came off the bench against Dorking and Hawks supporters will be hoping for a similar performance against OAs. In the backs, Will Baildon, who also impressed from the bench last weekend, comes in at fly half in place of Max Titchener who starts on the bench. Lailand Gordon returns from injury to take his place on the wing.
The provisional Henley Hawks team to face Old Albanian on Saturday is as follows:
- Kadeem Collins, 2. Spencer Hayhow ©, Louis Bailey, 4. Ben Elsey, 5. Sam Lunnon, 6. Liam Goodison, 7. Roan Noone, 8. Jake Rawcliffe, 9. Oskar White, 10. Will Baildon, 11. Lailand Gordon, 12. Oliver Snook, 13. Leo Webb, 14. George Wood, 15. Toby Howe
Replacements: 16. Nelly Kinniburgh, 17. Moses Fakatou, 18. Scott White, 19. Max Titchener, 20. Sam Allen
Elsewhere this weekend, there is a full complement of fixtures for Henley sides. On Saturday, the 2nd XV are back in league action at home to Bicester, kick-off 3pm, whilst the 3s are away at Milton Keynes also with a 3pm kick-off. On Sunday, Henley Hawks Women are at home to North Bristol, kick-off 2.30pm in the Championship South. Also on Sunday is the annual Henley Rugby Club Mini & Junior Festival where the club welcomes clubs from across the Thames Valley, and we look forward to a great day of rugby for all age groups.
