Oundle 21-3 Henley Hawks
By Alistair Beynon
Henley Hawks disappointing start to 2026 continued with a 21-3 defeat at the hands of second-placed Oundle on Saturday.
In what has been a wretched run of fixtures for Luke Allen's side - having to play the top six sides in the league since the beginning of December - it has also meant that with the defeat in Northamptonshire, Henley have slipped further behind third from bottom Sevenoaks.
The Hawks now face a significant challenge to retain their National league status, but with matches coming up against the sides around them, support at Dry Leas will be vital for the team if they are to reverse this slump.
Whilst Henley fought bravely, Oundle always had that little bit more in the tank and deserved their win. However, Henley were again guilty of not taking their chances when they were presented with them, something which they will certainly be looking at in training.
Despite the weather being set fair, the pitch was incredibly boggy in parts which made the contest fragmented and littered with errors. This seemed to play into the home sides hands, and with their big, heavy runners, were able to dictate the tempo.
They made their presence felt after just a couple of minutes on the clock when a penalty advantage gave them the opportunity to kick to the corner. From the resulting lineout, prop Taylor Gourlay powered his way over from close range to open the scoring. Ben Young converted, and just like the OAs game last week, Oundle had their noses in front with the Hawks having barely touched the ball.
To their credit, Henley weren't there to make up the numbers and looked to play an expansive game despite the state of the pitch. They had several chances to open their account early on, but the home sides defense was equal to the challenge with George Wood being held up over the line.
However, Henley continued to probe away and were rewarded with a well-struck Max Titchener penalty after 10-minutes on the clock.
That was it in terms of scoring in the first 40-minutes, with the rest of the half becoming a stop-start contest and both sides cancelling each other out. With the work Defense Coach Chris Cracknell has done in training again being evident, the Hawks defensive line held firm against the very direct and physical nature of the hosts attacking threat.
Both Hawks centre Callum Jones and Oundle's Number 8 Anthony Maka were yellow carded close to the break as they started a melee between the two sets of players. However, it will be interesting to see if any retrospective action will take place on Maka, as it looked very much like their was a neck roll on Jones in the first instance which prompted the disagreement.
The second half continued the same vein as the first, with both sides unable to find that cutting edge that would prove the difference. Henley again had opportunities deep within the hosts 22, but were unable to the find the space to exploit, and were left frustrated not to have taken advantage of them.
The relentless nature of the home sides physicality eventually ground the Hawks down, and they fell further behind close to the hour mark when another powerful driving maul was well finished by Grant Snelling. Young added the extras and their was daylight on the scoreboard at 14-3.
And replacement hooker Snelling grabbed his second close to the fulltime whistle with a carbon copy effort that pulled the home side clear at 21-3 which is how it remained.
No-one could fault the effort and application of the Hawks, but they will need to work on turning their territory and possession into points before Oxford Quins come to town on Valentine's Day, in what has become a huge game in the context of the season as a whole.
Henley Hawks
15. George Wood, 14. Oscar Busby, 13. Callum Jones, 12. Jimmy Leach, 11. Lailand Gordon, 10. Max Titchener. 9. Leo Webb, 1. Moses Fakatou, 2. Spencer Hayhow (c), 3. Edem Adablah, 4. Ben Elsey, 5. Fin Basil, 6. Morgan Poiner, 7. Scott White, 8. Will Benning
Replacements: 16. Luke Shpylka, 17. Max Brown, 18. Rory Cramp, 19. Toby Howe, 20. Beau Delaney
