Hosts show grit and determination despite defeat

HENLEY Hawks Women delivered an encouraging performance despite a challenging scoreline against a strong Exeter side, showing real intent, physicality and promise throughout the contest last Sunday.

Henley started brightly with strong defensive pressure forcing a number of early errors from the visitors. That pressure was rewarded when Henley won a penalty which Faye Stratford calmly slotted over for 3-0.

Exeter responded with an attacking spell of their own and crossed for a try. Henley continued to show ambition in attack, moving the ball well and testing the Exeter defence, but a turnover proved costly as the visitors struck again, though the conversion was missed.

A brief lapse in concentration allowed Exeter to capitalise once more, extending their lead to 15-3. Despite this, Henley showed moments of quality, none more so than a perfectly executed kick from Faye, gifting the Hawks a line-out just five metres from the Exeter try line but Henley were unable to convert the opportunity.

The visitors came out firing in the second half, scoring a quick converted try to stretch the score to 29-3. Henley continued to battle and were boosted by the senior debut of Jess Robinson, who made an immediate impact from the bench with her energy and physicality.

While the remainder of the game went Exeter’s way, with the visitors running in a further four tries, Henley never stopped working and showed resilience right to the final whistle.