Henley Hawks 22-43 Thurrock

By Lisa Tavinor

Henley Hawks Women hosted a strong Thurrock side at Dry Leas on Sunday in an entertaining and hard-fought encounter that saw both teams display plenty of attacking flair. Despite a valiant effort from the Hawks, the visitors came away 43–22 winners after a physical and fast-paced match.

Henley started brightly, immediately putting Thurrock under pressure. Their early dominance was rewarded when Chante Williams showcased her blistering pace down the wing to touch down for the opening try within the first few minutes. The conversion was narrowly missed, but Henley had made a statement of intent.

Thurrock responded quickly, capitalising on a series of missed tackles to score a converted try and edge ahead 5–7. The match continued at a high tempo, with both sides battling for control. Thurrock were next to cross the line, adding an unconverted try to extend their lead.

Henley hit back strongly as Sivoidaveta Adiqalo powered her way over the line, a fine display of strength and determination. The Hawks’ defensive resilience was also on show as they managed to hold up a Thurrock try, but the visitors kept the pressure on and scored again before halftime, giving them a 10-17 advantage at the break.

Thurrock came out firing in the second half, running in two converted tries to widen the gap. Emotions ran high when a Thurrock player was penalised for throwing the ball in a Henley player’s face following their last try, handing the Hawks a scrum on halfway. From the ensuing play, Fern Scobie made a brilliant break through the defence to score under the posts, with Fern Edgar slotting the conversion to bring the score to 17–31.

The final quarter saw end-to-end action, with both teams producing some excellent phases of play. Thurrock extended their lead with another converted try before Hermione Titcombe intercepted a loose pass and sprinted clear to score a fantastic try for Henley. However, Thurrock had the final say, crossing once more to seal a 43–22 victory.

Despite the loss, Henley can take plenty of positives from their performance — particularly their strength in the scrum and attacking creativity throughout the match.

Players’ Players: Charlotte Gisbourne & Becky Bristow

Henley Hawks Women will look to build on this performance when they travel to face Bath on Saturday, 2 November.