Hawks run riot in relegation showdown

HENLEY Hawks put their recent woes behind them with a dominant display against Oxford Harlequins on Saturday, securing a bonus try point victory at Dry Leas.

The Hawks were good value for their 54-12 Division 2 East win, running in eight tries in the process, including a brace each for Will Benning and Oscar Busby and 14-points from the boot of Max Titchener.

Given the amount of rain that had fallen in recent weeks, it was refreshing to see the sun make an appearance, and despite the pitch being boggy in parts, both sides were keen to play an expansive game.

It was a cagey opening first five minutes as both teams looked to settle into a rhythm with nerves being evident.

With their defeat at Quins back in October still fresh in the minds, Henley slowly began to assert their authority on the game, which was helped by the visitors’ indiscipline which saw them penalised eight times in the first half alone.

The pressure told near the 10 minute mark when a line-out in the Quins 22 saw prop Moses Fakatou charge through a gap in the visitors’ defence to open the scoring. Titchener converted and Henley had their noses in front at 7-0.

It got even better for the home side several minutes later when a superb pass from Toby Howe gave Lailand Gordon space out wide, and his deft pass to Busby saw the wing over the whitewash for the Hawks second. Titchener was narrowly off target with his conversion from out wide.

Henley were playing with confidence and scored a third try on the quarter mark when Leo Webb wriggled his way through some half-hearted tackles to run in from some 30-yards out. With Titchener adding the extras, Henley had built an imposing 19-0 lead.

The bonus point was secured with half an hour gone when centre Callum Jones cut a good line to tear through the Quins defence dot down under the sticks.

Quins fought back and got themselves on the scoreboard on 35 minutes when flanker Fin Boarder was the man to dot down following a powerful driving maul.

Any joy was short-lived as Henley grabbed a fifth just before the half-time whistle when Benning powered over from close range. Titchener converted and the Hawks had built a 33-5 lead at the break.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first with Henley back in the ascendency, and were soon rewarded when Benning’s quick-tap penalty on the five metre line saw the powerful number eight barrel his way over for his second of the game.

A raft of substitutions seemed to stem the tide for a while, but the Hawks rediscovered their momentum on the hour mark when replacement flanker Morgan Poiner wrestled his way through the Quins defence to dot down for Henley’s seventh of the game. Again Titchener duly obliged with the extras, and Henley were running rampant at 47-7.

Quins refused to lie down and kept asking questions of the Henley defence. Their patience was rewarded on 66 minutes when their fullback Ross Cooke spotted a gap in the Hawks defence, and his impressive turn of speed saw him cross for the visitors second.

With the game petering out, Henley found themselves back on the attack in the closing stages, and they crossed the 50 point mark when Titchener’s clever kick through was well gathered by Busby, and he put the finishing touches on a fine team performance.

It was a richly deserved win for Henley, who had run the top sides close in recent weeks. It will also give them a much-needed confidence boost heading into Saturday’s crucial showdown at Esher.

With both Esher and Sevenoaks losing, it also means that Henley have clawed back the deficit between the three sides heading into a vital fortnight for director of rugby Luke Allen’s team.

Henley Hawks: Howe, Busby, Jones, Leach, Gordon, Titchener, Webb (O White, 57 mins), Fakatou (Shpylka 61), Hayhow (Delaney, 55 mins), Shpylka (Bailey, 34 mins), Elsey (Taylor, 62 mins), Goodison, S White, Brown (Poiner, 55 mins), Benning (Brown 70). Replacements Taylor, Poiner, O White, Delaney, Bailey.