Henley Hawks vs Tunbridge Wells – Saturday, May 9th, kick-off 3pm 

By Alistair Beynon

The Henley Hawks 2025/26 season reaches its climax tomorrow (Saturday) in what is the biggest game for the club in over 10-years. There is so much at stake for Luke Allen’s team, and having been a National League outfit since the mid-1990s, they will be desperate to retain their level 4 status for another season.

Standing in their way is Tunbridge Wells, who defeated Letchworth Garden City 43-32 in an absorbing semi-final match-up last weekend. For the Kent side, their Director of Rugby is ex-Hawk Fred Pierrepont, and he has put together a dynamic side that has played some excellent rugby this season. Despite trailing Letchworth 22-15 midway through the second half, their superior fitness levels told and they pulled away in the final quarter to register an excellent victory. This followed up their extra-time win over London Scottish Lions the week previously in the Quarter Final.

For the Hawks, they have had a rest weekend following their win in Guernsey and have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash. As such, Allen is able to name the same starting XV from the Guernsey clash which sees Moses Fakatou, Spencer Hayhow and Luke Shpylka continue in the front row. Seb Scott was fantastic for Henley in the Channel Islands, and the Hawks coaching side will be hoping he continues his fine run of form. On the bench, there is a return for back rower Fin Basil who was unavailable for the Guernsey trip.

The provisional Henley side to face Tunbridge Wells 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. Oscar Busby, 12. Jimmy Leach, 13. Callum Jones, 14. Seb Scott, 15. Tom Cunningham

Replacements: 16. Nelly Kinniburgh, 17. Louis Bailey, 18. Fin Basil, 19. Oskar White, 20. Toby Howe

Whilst it’s not been the season the club hoped it would be at the start of September, this young Henley side have fought incredibly hard since Christmas to turn their fortunes around, and we hope the whole town can get behind the team for one last time before the summer break. For those attending, the club strongly advises all supporters to purchase their tickets in advance through the clubs website to avoid queueing on the day.