Second half comeback falls short for Hawks

A STIRRING second-half comeback from Henley Hawks fell just short as Dorking edged past them, 41-36 in a scintillating encounter at Dry Leas last Saturday.

The Surrey side were good value for their win, building an imposing 38-12 lead on the hour mark, but a madcap last quarter saw Henley come away with two points for their efforts and it could have been more had the hosts been more clinical from the kicking tee.

As it is, Henley will be licking their wounds after successive narrow home defeats in what is proving to be a very competitive National 2 East division.

Dorking fly-half Tom Hardwick pulled the strings expertly throughout and opened the scoring on eight minutes with a well-struck penalty. This was extended soon after when the fly-half ghosted his way through the Henley defence before offloading to Cameron Cowell to crash over in the corner. Hardwick’s conversion made it 10-0.

Henley fought back well and an excellent kick over the top of the Dorking defence from Leo Webb was gleefully gathered by Ollie Snook who dotted down by the sticks. Max Titchener added the extras and Henley had a foothold in the game at 10-7.

However, the away side began to assert their dominance on proceedings, and with their powerful set piece causing Henley problems, scored two tries in quick succession on the stroke of half-time. First, another searing break from Hardwick saw Max Coyle over for their second try and this was soon followed by wing Theo Williamson, who dotted down in the corner following more incisive play from the Dorking backs. Both tries were converted by Hardwick, and at 24-7 to the visitors at the break, Henley had a mountain to climb in the second half.

It was the visitors who continued to press home their dominance early in the second period when Tom Bloomer took advantage of sloppy Henley defending to gather a loose ball in the Hawks 22 to dot down and pull Dorking further clear. Hardwick was meticulous with the boot and converted again to make it 31-7.

The Hawks refused to lie down and were rewarded with their second try when Liam Goodison showed strength to cross out wide following excellent hands from the Henley pack. Frustratingly for the Hawks, Titchener’s well-struck conversion came back off the upright.

Despite the home side working hard to create further opportunities, they were continually falling foul of the referee’s whistle, and the game was all but sealed when Dorking second row Jasper King powered his way over from close range to make it 38-12 with 20 minutes remaining.

Debutant Will Baildon’s excellent try sparked a Hawks resurgence, and a further quick-fire treble from Webb, George Wood and a quite remarkable effort from Jake Rawcliffe had Henley dreaming of an unthinkable comeback triumph. However, it wasn’t to be as Hardwick steadied the nerves with an injury time penalty to seal a 41-36 win for the Surrey side.

Henley director of rugby Luke Allen was proud of the resilience his side showed in the second half. After the game Allen said: “It would have been easy for us to throw in the towel, but even at 38-12 we kept fighting hard and the energy we showed in the last quarter was superb.

“Had a few kicks gone over, it could have been a different story. Credit to Dorking though, they’re an excellent side and we ran them very close.”

Henley Hawks: Howe, Wood, Webb, Snook (Titchener, 78 mins), Allen, Titchener (Baildon, 58 mins), O White, Collins (Bailey, 78 mins), Hayhow (Noone, 68 mins), Bailey (Fakatou, 34 mins), Elsey (Rawcliffe, 64 mins), Lunnon, Goodison, Noone (S White, 62 mins), Small (Kinniburgh, 45 mins). Replacements: Kinniburgh, Rawcliffe, Baildon, S White, Fakatou.