Leicester Lions vs Henley Hawks
Saturday, October 3rd, kick-off 2pm
By Alistair Beynon
Henley Hawks make the trip to the East Midlands tomorrow to face Leicester Lions for the first time since the 2021/22 season as they aim to bounce back to winning ways following their 31-31 draw at home to Channel Islanders Jersey last weekend.
And for Director of Rugby Luke Allen and his coaching staff, they will be delighted to welcome back prop Kadeem Collins and back rower Will Benning into the match day squad for the first time this season.
Henley’s front row struggled against their more experienced counterparts last Saturday, and with Louis Bailey now sidelined for a while with a broken toe, Collins’ return in particular is a timely boost.
The Hawks also welcome back Leo Webb into the starting XV with the scrum half having recovered from an injured hand that kept him out of the Jersey match. There is also a change at Fly Half with Callum Jones coming back into the starting lineup in place of Ollie Snook. Aaron Bello also makes his first start of the season for the Hawks on the wing after a string of excellent performances for the second team. He replaces the injured Oscar Busby.
Leicester Lions are an experienced outfit and include ex-Hawk Fly Half Max Titchener in their ranks, and he will undoubtedly be keen to get one over his former side. Last season the Lions were relegated from National One and, like Henley, have yet to find fluency so far this season. In their four games played so far, they have suffered defeats to early pacesetters Guernsey and Oundle, along with a heavy 50-29 loss at Havant last Saturday. They did, however, record an excellent 30-17 triumph over Jersey a fortnight ago.
The provisional Henley Hawks side to face Leicester Lions is as follows:
- Nelly Kinniburgh, 2. Jake Rawcliffe, 3. Luke Shpylka, 4. Ben Elsey © 5. Ben Harrison, 6. Fin Basil, 7. Max Brown, 8. Marcus Lowe, 9. Leo Webb, 10. Callum Jones, 11. Aaron Bello, 12. Jimmy Leach, 13. Ashton Phillips, 14. Seb Scott, 15. Tom Molhoek
Replacements: 16. Isaac Archer, 17. Kadeem Collins, 18. Will Benning, 19. Scott White, 20. Toby Howe
Elsewhere this weekend, the Henley 2s will be looking to build on their fantastic opening day 86-0 victory over Oxford when they entertain local rivals Reading Abbey at Dry Leas. Kick-off is 3pm. The Henley 3s and development squad travel to Bracknell 4s for their first game of the season, kick-off is also 3pm. Henley Hawks Women have a rest weekend.
