Henley Hawks aiming to break away day hoodoo

HENLEY Hawks are back in National League Division 2 East action on Saturday when they travel to South East London to take on Westcombe Park, kick-off 2.30pm.

Following the bonus point triumph over Sevenoaks a fortnight ago, Luke Allen’s side will be aiming to back that victory up with another statement win as they push to avoid relegation, but they will be more than aware of the threat posed by the Kent side.

The two teams met at Dry Leas back in November, and it was Westcombe Park that came out victorious that day with a 21-14 triumph.

Henley’s away form has been poor this season, with only a draw at Barnes being the only match that hasn’t ended in defeat. And with five games left of the current campaign, now is the time for the Hawks to find some semblance of form on the road. Visits to high-flying Bury St Edmunds and a trip to Guernsey on the last day of the season await.

Westcombe Park currently sit in seventh place in the table, with Henley moving up to 12th following their win over Sevenoaks. The Hawks will be more than aware of the teams around them with Esher now only three points ahead in 11th place.

In terms of team news, Allen is forced into a couple of changes to the starting side that faced Sevenoaks.

In the front row, there is a return to the Hawks for prop Kaleem Niazi. The powerful tight-head has been plying his trade for Naas in the Irish AIB Division 1B this season. In the backs, Toby Howe also comes back into the starting side at fly-half in place of the unavailable Ollie Snook. Max Titchener is still out with a rib injury.

The provisional Henley Hawks side to face Westcombe Park is as follows: 1 Moses Fakatou, 2 Spencer Hayhow, 3 Kaleem Niazi, 4 Ben Elsey, 5 Sam Lunnon, 6 Fin Basil, 7 Max Brown, 8 Will Benning, 9 Leo Webb, 10 Toby Howe, 11 Lailand Gordon, 12 Jimmy Leach, 13 Callum Jones, 14 Oscar Busby, 15 George Wood. Replacements: 16 Nelly Kinniburgh, 17 Luke Shpylka, 18 Scott White, 19 Zack Taylor, 20 Oskar White.

Elsewhere this weekend, both Henley 2nds and Henley Hawks Women are without fixtures.