Henley Hawks Men 46-27 Old Albanian
By Alistair Beynon
A Fin Basil hattrick of tries sparked Henley Hawks Men to a scintillating 46-27 bonus point triumph over high flying Old Albanian at Dry Leas on Saturday afternoon.
It was a superb performance from Luke Allen's team for a full 80-minutes, running in seven tries whilst putting in an excellent defensive shift when required.
With the win, Henley stay in eighth in a crowded National 2 East, but importantly move nine points clear of London Welsh in 12th place.
On a warm October afternoon, a good crowd of over 400 Henley supporters were treated to an excellent game of rugby, with the Hawks showcasing real attacking intent right from the outset.
With Scotty White, on his 200th appearance for Henley, leading the team onto the field, it was the Hawks who took the lead after just five minutes when Callum Jones' excellent kick through the back of the OAs defence saw fullback Matt Bowers the first to dot down. Jones was wide with the conversion attempt, but the hosts had an early 7-0 advantage.
That lead was doubled five minutes later when a superb break through the OAs defence from Jimmy Leach saw the centre offload to Aaron Bello, and the speedy wing put on the afterburners to cross out wide the Hawks second. Jones was again narrowly off target with his conversion, but Henley had the visitors wondering what had hit them.
To their credit, OAs are an experienced side with many top performers, and they came back into the contest on 15-minutes when they patiently worked play up into the Henley 22. The ball was recycled well, eventually finding wing Joe Eves to spot a gap in the defensive line to cross out wide. Greg Lound was off target with the extras, but they had a foothold in the game at 10-5.
However, Henley refused to let the visitors build any further momentum, tackling with ferocity on the gain line, and tirelessly working the breakdown. The home side were also gaining an advantage in the scrum, with several penalties going their way.
On the quarter mark, a fantastic grubber kick from Jones through the middle of the OAs defence, bounced up kindly for Basil to gleefully grab hold of the loose ball and race to the line for the Hawks third of the contest. This time Jones made no mistake from the tee, and Henley had put daylight on the scoreboard at 17-5.
It was all Henley, and they secured their try bonus point close to the half hour when the superb Basil made a half break through the OAs defence. On his shoulder was Number 8 Will Benning to take hold of his deft offload, fend off a couple of tacklers to dive over the line. Jones was again narrowly wide with the conversion but Henley were running rampant. OAs had no answer to the power running of the Hawks backrow, and with Jones expertly pulling the strings at Fly Half, Henley supporters were getting dizzy with excitement.
However, this setback seemed to spark something of a revival from the visitors, and they certainly weren't going down without a fight. They cut the deficit with five minutes remaining of the half when a powerful driving maul was well finished by Saracens Academy hooker Kalisitiane Elone. Lound was again off target with the conversion, but they had narrowed the gap to 22-10.
OAs were starting to make headway through the Henley defence, and they had one final opportunity before the halftime whistle. However, the Hawks shut the door on them, managing to hold them up over the line to signify the end of a breathless half of rugby.
It was almost inevitable that the visitors would come out firing after the break, and having made several substitutions to freshen things up, they certainly looked well up for the challenge in front of them.
They were rewarded with just three minutes gone in the second period when former Hawk, Elliot McPhun picked up the ball from the back of a ruck close to the line to dive over for the visitors third score. Lound converted, and suddenly it was a one-score game again at 22-17.
The Hawks from last season may well have wilted under this pressure, but you feel that this year's side are made of stronger stuff, and back they came again. Firstly, a rampaging touchline run from replacement prop Kadeem Collins was held up just short of the line, but with the ball recycled quickly, Basil was on hand to crash over for his second of the game. Jones added the extras, and their was daylight on the scoreboard again at 29-17.
And this lead was extended further five minutes later, when Basil grabbed his hattrick following persistent pressure on the visitors line gave the outstanding flanker a glimmer of space to dive over the whitewash for the Hawks sixth of the contest.
Scotty White was sinbinned on 64-minutes following persistent team offences, and the visitors secured their bonus point a minute later when replacement hooker Charlie Fleckney was the man to dot down following another powerful driving maul. Lound was again off target with the conversion, but the score was still very much in the Hawks favour at 36-22.
With Jones edging Henley further ahead with a penalty with 10-minutes remaining to make it 39-22, it felt that this was the final nail in the coffin. And when Leo Webb scampered down the line to dot down in the corner to spark jubilant celebrations a couple of minutes later, Henley were home and dry at 46-22 with Jones nailing the touchline conversion.
However, OAs kept plugging away and with Ashton Phillips yellow carded for Henley, they secured a consolation try with time running out when Rafferty Hewitt crossed for the visitors fifth.
It marked the end of a frenetic, high-scoring contest, and certainly one the best performances Henley have put together in recent years. With a well-earned rest weekend, the Hawks will be able to rest some tired bodies after a long seven week stretch of games. Waiting for them next is a trip to old rivals Dorking on Halloween.
Henley Hawks Director of Rugby Luke Allen was understandably thrilled after the game. "We were fantastic value for our win, and I knew this performance was coming after a few false starts. We had an excellent week of training, and the lads were desperate to prove what we're all about this season.
"The key is now to use this as the yard stick for how far we've grown as a team, and I'm very excited to see how we build from this performance."
Henley Hawks
15. Bowers, 14. David, 13. Phillips, 12. Leach, 11. Bello, 10. Jones, 9. Webb, 1. Kinniburgh, 2. Rawcliffe, 3. Shpylka, 4. Elsey (c), 5. Harrison, 6. Basil, 7. White, 8. Benning
Replacements: 16. Archer, 17. Collins, 18. Lowe, 19. Hughes, 20. Brown
Match photos courtesy of Rhiannon Jones available here.
