London Welsh 36-32 Henley Hawks
By Alistair Beynon
There was a sense of deja-vu on Saturday as despite a valiant effort, Henley Hawks were denied an excellent victory by a late London Welsh score, which saw the Hawks come away with two points for their efforts when it could so easily have been five.
It has been an all too familiar story this season, with Henley now having registered an incredible six losing bonus points, the most in the league. Sadly, it really does highlight just how tight the margins are in National 2 East, as converting even three of those losses to victories would see the Hawks sit in mid-table. As it is, they find themselves languishing second from bottom with a mountain to climb heading into the second half of the season.
After their dismal showing against Bury a fortnight ago, Henley should be proud of their efforts against Welsh, and on another day, would be celebrating an important victory. But yet again, another cruel twist of fate saw Henley register their tenth defeat of the season.
In what was a real ebb and flow first half, neither side were able to stamp their authority on the game in what proved to be a very cagey opening quarter. However, it was the hosts who slowly gained the upper hand and took the lead on 16-minutes when Number 8 Frankie Souto did well to power way his over the line following a 5-metre scrum. Matt Hodgson added the extras and the home side had their noses in front at 7-0.
That lead was extended 10-minutes later when Hodgson added a penalty to move the scoreboard to 10-0 in favour of the home side, leaving Henley supporters in attendance fearing the worst.
However, with Rams loanees Morgan Macrae and Andrew Lamb both impressing for the Hawks, Henley had an edge to their attacking game which has been missing recently, and slowly worked their way into the contest. It was Lamb who notched his first of a brace just after the half hour mark, following a quick tap penalty deep inside the Welsh 22 which saw the fullback cut a great line to crash over from close range. Max TItchener notched the two-pointer, and Henley were finally on the scoreboard at 10-7 to the hosts.
The Hawks were soon back on the attack following great link-up play between Macrae and Callum Jones, which saw the ball ending up with Leo Webb, and the scrum half put on the afterburners to dive over the line for an excellent team score. Titchener again added the conversion, and Henley were in front at 14-10.
However, back came the home side, and with the Hawks again struggling to keep their discipline at crucial moments, they allowed Welsh to grab an important score just before the half time whistle when wing Matt Bodilly finished well out wide. With Hodgson off target with the conversion, it was 15-14 to Welsh at the break.
Henley were much-improved after the interval, really taking the game to the hosts and were rewarded with two Titchener penalties which moved the Hawks into a 20-15 lead. And this lead was extended further still with Lamb putting the finishing touches on an excellent break from Seb Scott to dot down under the sticks. Titchener converted and there was daylight on the scoreboard at 27-15 to Henley.
Welsh refused to lie down, and with Scott White yellow carded, grabbed a quick score with the numerical advantage when Harry Breeze crossed the whitewash. Hodgson's conversion pulled it back to a one score game at 27-22 to the Hawks.
Despite being down to 14-men, Henley kept battling and grabbed their bonus point try with 10-minutes left when a great breakthrough the middle of ruck from Will Benning took the ball into the Welsh 22. From there, the ball was worked out wide to Macrae who finished brilliantly in the corner. Titchener was just off target with the conversion, but crucially, Henley had a 10-point lead heading into the final minutes.
As has far too often been the case this season, Henley allowed their opponents to hit back almost straight away. Giving away a penalty on their own 22, Henley were forced onto the back foot and the hosts patiently worked through the phases to work an opening out wide with Osian McAvoy crossing out wide for their try bonus point. Hodgson's brilliant conversion pulled it back to 32-29 with only a few minutes remaining.
Despite finding themselves back in the Welsh 22, Henley gave the ball away too easily allowing them to clear their lines and get hold of the ball again within the Hawks half. From there, scrum half Hywel Williams gleefully spotted a gap to cross the whitewash to give the visitors the lead back at 36-32 with Hodgson's conversion a formality.
Henley had one last chance to take the spoils but were penalised for holding on when deep in the Welsh 22, giving the home side the chance to clear their lines to signal the end of the game.
Next up for the Hawks is the visit of Barnes to Dry Leas this coming Saturday, December 20th where they will be looking to back this performance up with a similar one, but hopefully with a different outcome.
Henley Hawks
1. Louis Bailey, 2. Nelly Kinniburgh, 3. Moses Fakatou, 4. Sam Lunnon, 5. Liam Goodison, 6. Fin Basil, 7. Roan Noone, 8. Will Benning, 9. Leo Webb, 10. Max Titchener, 11. Lailand Gordon, 12. Morgan Macrae, 13. Callum Jones, 14. Seb Scott, 15. Andrew Lamb
Replacements: 16. Charlie Sichel, 17. Luke Shpylka, 18. Scott White, 19. Ben Elsey, 20. Oscar Busby
Match photo courtesy of London Welsh.
