Last minute missed conversion sees Hawks settle for draw

An INJURY-TIME try from prop Kadeem Collins saw Henley Hawks come back from an eight-point deficit to seal a draw and share the points with Barnes on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, on another day, Henley could well have been celebrating an excellent victory had Max Titchener’s difficult conversion attempt not narrowly drifted wide of the posts. As it is, the Hawks will be pleased with their showing in southwest London, putting together a committed performance against one of the league’s top sides.

The afternoon started badly for Luke Allen’s men with talismanic number 8 Will Benning limping off after just five minutes. And when Barnes fly half Mark McDermott went over for the opening score a few minutes later, it felt like it might be one of those games.

McDermott was a livewire for the home side all game, and he spotted a gap in the Hawks defence to crash over and put Barnes ahead. With fullback Elliot Haydon converting, the Londoners had an early advantage at 7-0.

However, Henley weren’t fazed by the setback and soon took a foothold in the contest. With Leo Webb pulling the strings at scrum half, the Hawks won a penalty and kicked for the corner. From the line-out, and with the maul well set, Webb peeled off the back and found Lailand Gordon free on the blindside for the wing to dive over to open Henley’s account. Titchener was off-target with the extras, but Henley had a platform from which to build.

The game quickly became an arm wrestle with neither side giving an inch. However, it was the home side who pulled further clear close to the half-hour mark when hooker Daniel James came off the back of a powerful driving maul to cross the whitewash. Haydon converted again and Barnes were two scores clear at 14-5.

The Hawks’ never-say-die attitude from last season was very much on display for all to see, and they were quickly back in the ascendancy. A knock-on close to the Barnes line looked as if an opportunity had gone begging, but from the resulting scrum, Henley pushed the home side backwards and when the ball spilled out of the side, Webb was quickest to react to dot down for Henley’s second score. Titchener converted and it was game on at 14-12.

Henley had one further opportunity just before the half-time whistle when a long-range penalty attempt from Titchener fell agonisingly short of the uprights, giving the home side the opportunity to clear to touch, and hold a narrow lead at the interval.

The second period began and was greeted by torrential rain and a hailstorm, which meant the game became a stop-start affair. However, it was the home side who adapted better to the conditions and they pulled further clear to 17-12 on the 47-minute mark when Haydon hit a long-range attempt through the uprights.

The home side had their tails up and were certainly helped by the strong wind behind them. Haydon saw an easier penalty attempt drift wide a few minutes later, but quickly made amends close to the hour with another three-pointer following more sustained pressure in the Hawks 22.

At 20-12 heading into the final quarter, Henley were facing an uphill task to get themselves back into the game, but they didn’t panic and slowly began to build pressure once again.

However, try as they might to break down the stubborn Barnes defence, they were thwarted at every turn, and it was proving to be a frustrating afternoon for the Henley faithful. A penalty within the Barnes 22 with five minutes to go gave Titchener an opportunity to make it a one score game, and the fly half calmly slotted it home to make it 20-15 heading into the concluding passages of play.

Stealing a Barnes line-out on their own 22, Hawks’ captain Spencer Hayhow ploughed his way deep into Barnes territory. Patiently working their way through the phases, Collins was the man to spot a gap in the home side’s defence to force his way over to level the scores. Now deep into injury time, Titchener lined up the kick to seal the win, but his conversion sailed just wide leaving Henley to come away with just the two points for their efforts.

It was a solid team performance against a strong side, and it was Barnes who certainly felt as though they were the luckier of the two sides to have come away with the draw.

Next up for Henley is the visit of Canterbury to Dry Leas on Saturday. Kick-off is 3pm.

Henley Hawks: 15 Toby Howe, 14 George Wood, 13 Callum Jones, 12 Connor Hayhow, 11 Lailand Gordon, 10 Max Titchener, 9 Leo Webb, 1 Kadeem Collins, 2 Spencer Hayhow, 3 Edem Alablah, 4 Ben Elsey, 5 Sam Lunnon, 6 Morgan Poiner, 7 Roan Noone, 8 Will Benning Substitutes: 16 Louis Bailey, 17 Nelly Kinniburgh, 18 Isaac Small, 19 Oskar White, 20 Will Baildon.