Henley Hawks 26-15 Guernsey Raiders

By Alistair Beynon

Henley Hawks put together their best performance of the season to overcome high-flying Guernsey Raiders at Dry Leas on Saturday. 

It was a bruising and fractious contest that saw four yellow cards, but the Hawks physicality gave them the edge and two tries in each half deservedly secured the bonus point victory. 

It was the home side that started on the front foot and despite constant pressure in the Raiders 22, Henley were guilty of trying to force the momentum and handling errors gave the visitors a chance to relieve the pressure. 

However, after 11 minutes, a charged down kick from the ever-present second row, Shek Sheriff saw flanker Roan Noone the first to gather the ball and cross the whitewash for the first score of the game. Max Titchener converted and Henley had their noses in front at 7-0. 

The setback seemed to spur the visitors into life and they moved the ball at speed into the Hawks 22. Earning a penalty, Guernsey opted for the posts and Ciaran McGann cut the deficit to 7-3 on the 20-minute mark. 

However, back came Henley who were finding gaps around the fringes and with Sheriff, Sam Lunnon and Liam Goodison all making hard yards, the Hawks were keen to take the game to the visitors. 

On 25 minutes, they extended their lead further when George Wood took advantage of another Guernsey error to pick up a loose ball in midfield and run in untouched. Titchener converted again and the Hawks moved into a 14-3 lead. 

The Raiders had secured try bonus points in all of their matches so far this season and it was easy to see why. They moved the ball effortlessly and at real speed which Henley were finding difficult to contend with. They pulled a try back close to the half hour mark when Ethan Smith put the finishing touches on an excellent move. McGann was wide with the touchline conversion, but it was a one score game at 14-8. 

Despite having a two man advantage with both Liam Welch and Tom Ceillam yellow carded for separate incidents in what was turning into a fractious contest, Henley were unable to make it count and the two sides went into the break with no further scores. 

The Hawks came out after the break intent on building on their lead, and they extended it further 5 minutes into the second half when fullback Toby Howe put the finishing touches on an excellent Aidan Pugh kick through. With Titchener in great touch with the boot, the home side moved into a 21-8 lead after the tricky conversion. 

The try bonus point was secured not long afterwards when Spencer Hayhow was the man to crash over the line after a dominant driving maul. Titchener was off target with the extras but Henley had a seemingly unassailable lead at 26-8 heading into the final 20 minutes. 

However, just when the Hawks sensed victory was theirs for the taking, the visitors hit back with a converted Jack Colbourne try on the hour to make it a nervy last quarter. But to their great credit, the Henley defence held firm to see the game out to claim an excellent win.

Next up for the Hawks is a trip to the south coast to face National 2 East newcomers Havant RFC on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Henley Hawks

Howe, Richardson, Wood, Webb, Gordon, Titchener, Pugh, Collins, Hayhow (Kinniburgh 69), Mason, Sheriff (Noone 74), Lunnon, Goodison, Noone (White 60), Lowe

Reps: Kinniburgh, Bailey, White, Jones, Rawsthorn

Tries: Noone 11, Wood 24, Howe 47, Hayhow 55

Conversions: Titchener 12, 25, 48

Guernsey Raiders

Armstrong (Roberts 56), Colbourne (Armstrong 74), McGann, Thomas, Smith, Simmonds, Boyland, Steventon, Ceillam (Le Noury 61), Currie (Dromantas 6), Hackett, Webb, Creber, Welch (Yarwood 46), Poullett

Reps: Le Noury, Dromantas, Yarwood, Roberts, Le Provost

Tries: Smith 27, Colbourne 59

Conversions: McGann 60

Penalties: McGann 21

Star Man: Liam Goodison (Henley)

Referee: Sam Yates

Attendance: 277

Halftime scoreline: Henley 14–8 Guernsey Raiders

Match photos courtesy of Andrew Turner available here.