Sevenoaks vs Henley Hawks – Saturday, November 8th, kick-off 2pm
By Alistair Beynon
Henley Hawks return to league action tomorrow (Saturday) for their latest National 2 East encounter. Luke Allen’s side make the journey down to Kent to face Sevenoaks, hoping to build on their excellent 47-12 victory over Esher a fortnight ago. Kick-off at Knole Paddock is 2pm.
The enforced break came at a frustrating time for Henley as they would’ve wanted to go straight back into action to back up their win over Esher. As it is, it gave the squad the opportunity to rest some tired bodies following a long 8-week stretch of fixtures.
Sevenoaks are no strangers to Henley, with the two sides having shared some tense battles over the last few seasons. Last year, honours were even between the two sides with Henley coming out on top, 26-20 at Dry Leas last October, before the Kent side got their revenge with an even narrower 24-22 win in the reverse fixture back in February. Henley currently sit in 10th place in the National 2 East table with 17 points, whilst Sevenoaks are in 13th place just three points behind them. The two sides compete for the Savills Shield, the winner being the side with the greater aggregate score over the two games played.
In terms of team news, Allen makes only one change to the starting XV against Sevenoaks from the side that faced Esher. In the front row, Moses Fakatou starts at tighthead in place of Edem Adablah who is unavailable. There is a welcome return from injury for both Sam Lunnon and George Wood who both take their places amongst the finishers.
The provisional Henley Hawks side to face Sevenoaks on Saturday is:
1. Kadeem Collins, 2. Spencer Hayhow ©, 3. Moses Fakatou, 4. Ben Elsey, 5. Liam Goodison, 6. Zack Taylor, 7. Scott White, 8. Will Benning, 9. Leo Webb, 10. Ollie Snook, 11. Oscar Busby, 12. Connor Hayhow, 13. Jimmy Leach, 14. Toby Howe, 15. Will Baildon
Replacements: 16. Nelly Kinniburgh, 17. Louis Bailey, 18. Sam Lunnon, 19. Oskar White, 20. George Wood
Elsewhere this weekend there is a full complement of fixtures for Henley sides. The 2s face off against old rivals Chinnor 3s at Dry Leas with a 2pm kick-off, whilst the 3s are also at home to Amersham & Chiltern 2s, again with a 2pm kick-off. On Sunday, Henley Hawks Women have a huge game against Sutton & Epsom at home with a 2pm kick-off.
