Westcombe Park 38-35 Henley Hawks

By Alistair Beynon

Despite a spirited late comeback which saw the Hawks come away with two bonus points for their efforts, it was the home side that claimed the spoils with a hard fought win at Goddington Dene on the opening day of the 2026/27 National League season. 

Henley got off to a slow start, not helped by poor discipline in the first quarter which saw the hosts race away to an early 19-0 lead thanks to tries from Calum Harris, David Rufai and Ben Fryatt. Fly Half Max Brown converted two of them, leaving Luke Allen's side shellshocked. 

The home sides driving maul was causing the Hawks plenty of problems with Harris touching down after nine minutes following early dominance. They added a second just five minutes later when Rufai did very well to touch down following an excellent kick through. And it got even worse for Henley after 23 minutes when Fryatt added the finishing touches to an excellent move that was started by Mac Duabie. 

It looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for a beleaguered Hawks side. However, they refused to yield, and slowly began to assert some dominance onto proceedings. They were rewarded close to the half hour mark when Nelly Kinniburgh powered his way over from close range. Will Hodgson, on his debut for Henley, converted well and the Hawks had a foothold in the contest. 

Playing with more confidence, Henley grabbed a second score after 34 minutes when another debutant, Tom Molhoek at fullback did brilliantly to touch down following an excellent pass out wide from Hodgson. The Flyhalf converted again and Henley were right back in the contest at 19-14. 

Frustratingly, however, they let the momentum shift again before the break when Harris grabbed his second following another powerful driving maul. Brown converted to stretch the home sides lead at the interval to 26-14. 

This lead was increased further ten minutes into the second half when Fryatt went over for his second following another storming break from Duabie. The powerful Number 8 was having an excellent game for Westcombe Park, posing lots of problems for the Henley defence. 

At 33-14, it looked like Henley were done and dusted, but back they came yet again. Persistent pressure in the hosts 22 saw Westcombe Park repeatedly infringe and the referee eventually awarded the Hawks with a penalty try. 

However, Park grabbed their sixth of the game with just eight minutes remaining to put them in a seemingly unassailable position, when Brown crossed the whitewash to make it 38-14. 

A big credit to the strength and conditioning work done by Luke Dorn over the summer, which has certainly seen the Hawks look fitter and sharper. And this work paid dividends heading into the final minutes when Henley scored two further tries from flanker Zack Taylor, which was followed by a sensational effort from Molhoek with a minute remaing to secure their second bonus point. 

There was a nervy finish in store for the home side as Henley had one last opportunity to go for the win, but they were penalised for holding on. giving the home side the opportunity to kick the ball off the pitch to mark the end of the contest. 

Next up for Henley is the visit of London Welsh to Dry Leas this coming Saturday, September 12th. Kick-off 3pm. 

15. Molhoek, 14. Bowers, 13. Jones, 12. Leach, 11. Busby, 10. Hodsgon, 9. Webb, 1. Bailey, 2. Kinniburgh, 3. Fakatou, 4. Elsey (c), 5. Harrison, 6. Taylor, 7. Brown, 8. Lowe

16. Rawcliffe, 17. Shyplka, 18. White, 19. Hughes, 20. Phillips

Match photos courtesy of Rhiannon Jones Photography available here.