Bury St. Edmunds vs Henley Hawks – Saturday, April 11th, kick-off 3pm 

By Alistair Beynon

Henley Hawks are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) as they begin their final run of three fixtures at current National 2 East table toppers, Bury St. Edmunds. Kick-off at the Greene King IPA Haberden is 3pm.

It is a huge task that awaits Luke Allen’s men with Bury having been on a superb run of form, having won seven of their last eight fixtures which has seen them reach the summit of National 2 East. The two sides met at Dry Leas back at the beginning of December and it was the Suffolk side who were victorious that day with a very convincing 54-18 win. They have undoubtedly been the best side to visit Dry Leas this season, but Henley have looked far more convincing since the turn of the year, particularly in defense, and will need to raise their game even more so if they are to come back with a victory on Saturday.

Henley supporters will also be keeping one eye on other results in the league, with both Esher and Sevenoaks at home against both Oxford Quins and Oundle respectively.

With the Easter break having given the squad a good opportunity to rest, Allen and his coaches have a relatively healthy squad to pick from. The pack has a settled look to it with Sam Lunnon fit to continue in the second row and Will Benning starting at Number 8. In the backs, Ollie Snook comes back in to start at fly half with debutant Tom Cunningham given the nod at outside centre. Cunningham has been captain for Nottingham University and comes with a good reputation, so Hawks supporters will be keen to see what he can do. On the bench, there is a return for George Wood who comes back into the matchday squad having recovered from injury.

The provisional Henley Hawks side to face Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday is as follows:

  1. Moses Fakatou, 2. Spencer Hayhow ©, 3. Luke Shpylka, 4. Ben Elsey, 5. Sam Lunnon, 6. Max Brown, 7. Scott White, 8. Will Benning, 9. Leo Webb, 10. Ollie Snook, 11. Lailand Gordon, 12. Jimmy Leach, 13. Tom Cunnignham, 14. Oscar Busby, 15. Toby Howe

Replacements: 16. Nelly Kinniburgh, 17. Louis Bailey, 18. Zack Taylor, 19. George Wood, 20. Oskar White

Elsewhere this weekend, the 2nd XV are back in action with another huge game at Bracknell 2s (KO 3pm), as they continue their push for promotion from Counties I Southern North.