Henley Hawks 26-20 Sevenoaks 

By Alistair Beynon

A faultless kicking display from Max Titchener was the difference for Henley Hawks as they were made to battle hard to defeat a spirited Sevenoaks side at Dry Leas on Saturday.

16 points from the trusty boot of Titchener and a try in each half from Spencer Hayhow and Marcus Lowe was enough to overcome the Kent side who battled hard, and were well worth the two bonus points they picked up in defeat. 

It was the visitors who came out of the blocks quickly and an early penalty attempt for fly half Ed Shepherdson was dragged wide giving the home side a reprieve. However, this setback didn't derail their ambition as they looked to find holes in the Hawks defence by moving the ball at speed. Their perseverance paid off when they took the lead on the 5-minute mark with centre Fin Stables powering over from close range. Shepherdson missed the conversion but the visitors had an early 5-0 lead. 

As is often the case, an early setback seems to spur Henley into action, and their first foray into the visitors 22 several minutes later saw hooker Spencer Hayhow peeling off the back of a driving maul to level the scores. Titchener converted and Henley had their noses in front, 7-5.

However, Sevenoaks continued to probe away, and they reclaimed the lead shortly after when Barney Stone crossed out wide, but crucially Shepherdson's off day with the boot continued as he was wide again with the conversion. 

Having seemingly learned their lesson from the 19-19 draw at Oxford Quins last month, when they turned down several kickable penalties in search of tries, the Hawks found themselves in a similar position against Oaks but this time turned to Titchener's boot to help tick the scoreboard over.

Three penalties in a 12-minute spell midway through the first half took the home side into the lead at 16-10, before a second try for Stone near half time pulled it back to just a point. However, Shepherdson was again narrowly wide with the conversion meaning that Henley had a very slender 16-15 lead at the break. 

The second half started with Henley in the ascendancy, and with Sam Lunnon and Kadeem Collins back in the action following injury lay-offs, they pulled clear when Marcus Lowe powered his way over following sustained pressure. Titchener added the extras and Henley moved into a 23-15 lead. 

The home side were looking far more assured now and were dominating the set piece giving them excellent territory and possession. They should have scored a third try near the hour mark following an excellent break from Titchener deep into the visitors 22. However, trying to force the momentum, the referee called a forward pass cancelling out Jamar Richardson's finish in the corner. 

A further penalty shortly afterwards from Titchener extended the lead to 26-15, but Seth Mokuolu’s excellent finish with 8 minutes remaining gave the Kent side hope. Shepherdson was again off target with the extras, but it was a one score game heading into the final stages of the contest. 

With the clock in the red, the visitors had one last chance to break into the Hawks half, but excellent defence from Henley forced a knock-on and the home side came away with another important victory in a very competitive National 2 East.

Despite being outscored by 4 tries to 2, Henley somehow found a way to win and with the injury concerns that plagued the side a few weeks ago slowly diminishing, the Hawks are looking more confident heading into their trip to old rivals Worthing Raiders on Saturday.

Henley Hawks

Howe, Richardson (Gordon 65), Rawsthorn, Webb, Wood, Titchener, Pugh (Hibberdine 65), Bailey (Collins 44), Hayhow (Rendell 68), Mason, Goodison, Basil, Noone (Lunnon 44), White, Lowe

Reps: Lunnon, Collins, Rendell, Gordon, Hibberdine

Tries: Hayhow 8, Lowe 43

Conversions: Titchener 9, 44

Penalties: Titchener 16, 21, 28, 60

Sevenoaks

Livett, Barker, Stone, Stables, Forrester (Mokuolu 60), Shepherdson, Jones (Cooper 68), Strainge (Moran 65), Sedgwick, Simmons (Chamnaoui 65), Green, Lee, McRae, Rufai (Johnson 60), Porteous

Reps: Moran, Chamnaoui, Johnson, Cooper, Mokuolu

Tries: Stables 5, Stone 12, 34, Mokuolu 72

Star Man: Max Titchener (Henley)

Referee: Alex Rose

Match photos courtesy of Andrew Turner available here.