Henley Hawks 45-26 Old Albanian 

By Alistair Beynon

A hattrick for hooker Ivor Langley and a brace for centre Callum Jones sparked a seven try bonanza for Henley Hawks on Saturday as they powered past Old Albanian to finish the season in style. 

Henley blew their in-form opposition away in a sensational first half display, combining a physical edge to their game that has been missing at times this season, along with flair and precision in attack that left OAs with no answers. 

With Sam Lunnon leading the side out on his 150th appearance in Henley colours, the second row was in inspired form against his former club, embracing the occasion and giving the Hawks an excellent platform in both defence and attack. 

However, it was very much a complete team performance, and a rampant Henley oozed confidence, taking the game to OA's right from the first whistle.

With both sides wanting to run the ball from deep, it was Henley who opened the scoring on five minutes when Will Benning's excellent break into the visitors 22 was finished by Guy Rawsthorn who gleefully picked up a loose ball to cross out wide. Max TItchener was wide with the extras, but Henley had an early lead.

The visitors responded just a couple of minutes later when an excellent floated pass was brilliantly finished by wing Elliot Munnelly out wide. Sam Jones was narrowly wide with his conversion, but the scores were level at 5-5. 

However, the next thirty minutes belonged to Henley and Langley notched his first try on the quarter mark with a well-worked driving maul. Titchener was on target with the conversion and the home side had their noses back in front at 12-5. `

Jones pulled the Hawks further clear with an excellent quickfire brace, the first of which was thanks to a probing kick through from livewire scrum half Aidan Pugh, which caused panic in the OAs defense and Jones was on hand to take full advantage of. The second, just a few minutes later, saw the centre finish off an excellent move that was started by a superb Toby Howe break in midfield. Titchener converted both and Henley went into the interval with a commanding 26-5 lead, and a bonus point already in the bag. 

The Hawks knew that OA's would come out stronger in the second half, and they had to match that physicality from the first 40-minutes if they were to keep them at arms reach.

Langley notched his second of the afternoon just a few minutes after the restart with a carbon copy effort, and Titchener, with another excellent performance from the tee, was on target again to move the home side clear at 33-5. 

The visitors weren't waving the white flag just yet, and Munnelly secured his second of the game on fifty minutes with a well finished try under the posts following a quick tap penalty from scrum half Bailey Thomas. Jones converted and OA's had a lifeline at 33-12. 

However, Langley put the game to bed on the hour mark with another catch and drive effort to secure an excellent hattrick after more sustained Henley pressure in the visitors half. OA's were falling foul of the referee's whistle far too often, and this lead to several scuffles between the two sets of players. 

Late converted tries for centre Greg Lound and replacement Will Jackson made the scoreline look respectable for the visitors, but it was Hawks centre Leo Webb who put the icing on the cake with an excellent finish in injury time to cap off a thoroughly convincing 45-26 victory for Luke Allen's men.

The Hawks Director of Rugby was in a buoyant mood post match. 'I was thrilled with how we played and it was a performance that had been coming for a while. The win at Barnes gave us a lot of confidence and we used that a platform to build on. It's a shame the season is now over, as we're really gelling as a side. 

I couldn't be prouder of the whole squad and we can look forward to a summer break and starting pre-season again in June.'  

Henley Hawks

Titchener, Rawsthorn, Jones, Webb, Richardson (Brathwaite 72), Howe, Pugh (Allen 72), Collins (Bailey 62), Langley (Kinniburgh 58), Mason, Goodison, Lunnon, Lowe, Noone (Poiner 62), Benning

Reps: Bailey, Poiner, Brathwaite, Kinniburgh, Allen

Tries: Rawsthorn 5, Langley 20, 43, 57 Jones 24, 27, Webb 80

Conversions: Titchener 21, 25, 28, 44, 58

Old Albanian

Noot (Jackson 53), Munnelly, Jones, Lound (Radovanovic 62), Nurse, Bishop, Thomas, Holland (Curtis 55), Fleckney, Samuel (Ramzanpour 25), Barker (Omole 66), Kingswell-Watts, Omole (Merrett 40) , Speller (Barker 80), Radovanovic (West 44)

Reps: Curtis, Ramzanpour, West, Merrett, Jackson

Tries: Munnelly 8, 48, Lound 61, Jackson 65

Conversions: Jones 49, 62, 66

Match photos courtesy of Andrew Turner available here.