Hayhow’s brace helps side get back to winning ways

FOLLOWING the previous weekend’s disappointing home defeat at the hands of Westcombe Park, Henley Hawks put together a clinical performance to beat Colchester 34-19 last Saturday to secure a try bonus point in the process.

A brace of tries each for Jamar Richardson and Spencer Hayhow was the catalyst for an assured display from Luke Allen’s men against a tenacious Colchester side, played out at a sodden Dry Leas.

A cagey opening saw both sides cancelling each other out. Henley broke the deadlock with a Toby Howe penalty on 17 minutes. Soon after concerted pressure from the Hawks saw centre Callum Jones weave his way through the Colchester defence for the opening try with a quarter of the game gone. Howe converted and Henley had built a 10-0 lead.

However, unable to claim the restart, the Hawks were instantly on the back foot and the visitors hit back through Connor O’Reilly’s excellent score in the corner. Gabe Jones was narrowly off target with the conversion but Colchester had a foot in the game at 10-5.

The setback didn’t derail Henley’s ambitions with the home side bossing the breakdown. And with the set piece performing well, the Hawks were soon back on the attack. A five-metre scrum saw the ball spun wide and Lailand Gordon’s fien inside pass to Richardson gave the fullback the chance to sprint to the line for Henley’s second try of the afternoon. Howe was just wide with the conversion, but the home side had pulled ahead to a 15-5 lead.

With Colchester centre Will Blakemore yellow carded for a high tackle, Henley scented blood and extended their lead further with a fantastic team try that saw Richardson put the finishing touches on an excellent move.

George Wood’s break into the Colchester half put the Hawks on the front foot, and with Howe pulling the strings, the fly half fed in Leo Webb who took the ball up close to the visitors’ 22. His offload to Sam Lunnon saw the big second row flight a pass into Richardson’s hands and the speedy fullback dotted down close to the posts. Howe added the extras and Henley led 22-5 heading into the break.

The visitors came out after the interval with renewed purpose, and with Blakemore having served his 10 minutes in the bin, Colchester pulled a try back when the centre crossed the whitewash for another excellent score. Jones converted and it was game on at 22-12.

However, just when the visitors sensed they were back in the contest, Hayhow lit up the match with a superb quickfire double to put the game to bed. The first, close to the hour mark, was an impressive solo effort which saw the hooker power in from his own half, dodging his way past several tackles for a scintillating score.

His second effort within 10 minutes saw the front rower peel off the back of a driving maul to crash over the whitewash. It capped a fine performance from the hooker who has been in superb form for the Hawks of late. With Max Titchener now taking over kicking duties, he duly dispatched the conversion and Henley had an unassailable 34-12 lead.

With Blakemore picking up a second yellow card and with lock Charlie Friend also sin-binned for a high tackle, Colchester finished the game with 13 men. Despite their numerical disadvantage, to their great credit, the visitors played some fine rugby when their backs were truly against the wall, and they secured a deserved consolation try late on when lithe wing O’Reilly crossed for his second of the afternoon. With Jones converting, he pulled the score back to 34-19. Colchester finished the game on the attack but the Hawks defence held firm seeing the game out for a morale-boosting victory.

Henley Hawks: Richardson (Titchener, 60 mins), Wood, Jones, Webb, Gordon, Howe, Pattison, Collins (Bailey, 54 mins), Hayhow (Langley, 80 mins), Mason, Lowe, Lunnon, Basil, Noone (White, 63 mins), Benning (Poiner, 68 mins). Replacements: Bailey, White, Titchener, Poiner, Langley.