Phoenix 10-43 Henley 3's
By David Lewis
Last season, Henley 3’s enjoyed a comfortable home victory in the autumn, only to suffer a heavy defeat at Phoenix's home ground in Taplow after the New Year. As they prepared for this first away match of the new season, it was clear they were out to make amends.
The British summer had other plans, however, with what seemed to be a continuous deluge that cast a gloom over the weekend. Despite the looming threat of a wet and miserable afternoon though, the skies cleared, and the sun made a surprising appearance, turning it into a humid afternoon of rugby.
Henley started well from Phoenix’s kick off and made some early very promising attacks, but were maybe a little complacent allowing Phoenix to claim the first unconverted try in the corner. In response, it was Henley’s Captain, Toby Stevens, who, leading by example, crashed through the opposition’s defence to score and convert his own try with a fine drop goal.
Phoenix defended well but Henley started to gain momentum and despite several missed chances, it was centre Adam Porter, who also went through the middle to claim Henley’s next try with another drop goal conversion from Stevens, setting the score at 14 points to 5 in Henley’s favour.
Phoenix held well with the stronger and larger pack, causing Henley to struggle to win ball in the scrums and with a yellow card handed out to a Henley player, Henley had to cope with only fourteen players. However, when the balance of players was restored, centre Ollie Portch, again took advantage of Phoenix’s weak defence in the middle of the field, with Stevens’ drop kick number three.
As the second half commenced, it was flanker Ryan Porter, who quickly took Henley ahead again with, yet another Stevens drop kick, advancing the score to 28 points to 5, at which point Phoenix were struggling with injuries and dropping to 14 players due to a lack of substitutes. Another score by Adam Porter put Henley beyond reach, although Stevens conversion uncharacteristically hit the post.
Phoenix did manage to steal one more unconverted try but as the game came towards the end, Portch claimed another try and with his own conversion failing, the referee blew the whistle for the final time, with the final score being 43 points to 10 for Henley.
It was a well-executed performance by Henley with some strong individual efforts. There were also some great efforts by several newcomers to the team, including Blake Barrett. In the case of Tom Wise, it was his debut in rugby and for Jonathan Hodge it was his first game for around 20 years. Henley have started the season well and, after two games, claim the top of the table position and will face Windsor at home next Saturday.
