First Impression: HRFC v Colchester (W38-12)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 1200
Weather: Warm sunshine
Surface: AGP
Havant Rugby Football Club
Colchester RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p807109269
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
First Impression:
The Lane was basking in sunshine with a full FPA lunch crowd nicely beered up, and even though this would be a tight encounter against Colchester who were coming with a point to prove following their relegation last week - there was definitely a more relaxed feel about today's game. In truth last week's results and the subsequent confirmation we had survived this difficult season had definitely settled the nerves, the management looked relieved and the players just happy their hard work had paid off - hopefully the lack of pressure would allow us to generate a free flowing performance. After a bit of the now standard 'pomp and circumstance' - Jez Smith came out for his 50th Cap and we got down to the business of the last home game of the season at the Lane. Both teams looked to be evenly balanced from the off, and we started relatively well and were soon building the phases methodically and creating attacking opportunities, but the Colchester D was solid and their subsequent ability to generate turnover ball from our attacks was problematical. Numerous times our attacking runners would find themselves isolated at the breakdown only to be robbed by the Colchester recycle machine. Losing a man to a card early on allowed for a slight shift in the balance but the scores remained even until '20 mins. Indeed if there was any significant difference between these two (balanced) sides in the first half, it was probably the ability to clinically execute our 2 on 1 opportunities and better generate quick turnover ball to exploit opportunities. HT12-12 - a solid game, but not a great spectacle at this point, with quite a few periods of stoppage in the heat - my sense was there was definitely more to come.
Second half - and finally the game started to come alive. Havant started to show more attacking intent, and seemingly got stronger in the tight and it wasn't long before Joel Knight had crossed the whitewash after a strong direct carry through the colchester lines, Alex Hankins took the next score after his own strong solo effort bursting through tackles and carrying well to the posts. That said - Colchester didn't lie down, they just needed the ball and their ability to breakout was still alive and well, generally sparked by their 9, who was always quick to see any attacking opportunity when the ref gave him the chance. That said, Havant were playing well and looked to be going up through the gears, creating good opportunities and as the score deficit started to build so they started to find more space to attack out wide. We now seemed to be playing confidently, we looked in control and relaxed ..while still handling any threat infrequently posed by our visitors. That said it was not without mistakes and we certainly fluffed a number of scoring opportunities by holding the ball too long rather than shifting it to the wider support runner in space- nevertheless the opportunities kept coming and Joel Knight got over again before the afternoon was rounded off when Ben Griffen, who finally got over himself after a number of close opportunities earlier in the afternoon. Joel slotted the conversion from far out wide to briung proceedings to a close. FT W38-12.
As games go - Not a full 80 min performance, more a strong second 40 after a steady first half. There were 6 tries and this was a 5 point BP win - whats not to like. Our subsequent league table position now has us 1 point above Oxford Quins (12th) and within 3 of Sevenoaks (10th) - my sense is the coaches will still be demanding that higher performance level from the squad and a consolidated season finish against Sevenoaks next week. Lets see if we can take their 10th position off them! ππ #upthehill #noeasygames #norealpressure #nextjob #nat2E #nationalleaguerugby
Match Storyboard
1. Good lively start from both sides as the game settled into a pattern with both sides getting close to the line a number of times early on.
2. Colchester scored first / Havant replied off a driving maul (jay Ashworth) (5-5)
3. Will Perry carried well and managed to take his minders with him to score. / Colchester levelled up before Half Time (12-12)
4. Second Half Havant came out stronger and the game seemed to grow in pace. Joel Knight muscled his way over for a good try. (19-12)
5. Alex Hankins makes a superb break inside the 22, and carries well to the line to score. (26-12)
6. Joel Knight provides another strong carry and has the strength to get to the line (31-12)
7.Ben Griffen Finally gets over after a number of failed attempts. (38-12)
8. Season Trophy Winners
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]]>First Impression: Dorking v HRFC (L43-17)
Venue: The Pavillion
Crowd: Approx 400
Weather: Warm sunshine/ Chilly Easterly Breeze
Surface: Dry Grass
Havant Rugby Football Club
Dorking RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p807109269
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
Excerpt from Adam King's Rugby round-up:
"A classic game of 2 halves at 2nd placed Dorking for the 1s as it often is on the slopey pitch at " The Big Field". It was an electric start from the Lanemen with Eddie Lewis slicing open the D's defence before offloading to Jacob Ashworth to go in under the poles with Joel Knight adding the 2 for 0-7 on 4! The lead was increased on 19 as JK smashed his way through 3 tacklers off-loading to Archie Cleeve for 0-12 on (19). Despite applying pressure at times and having a try disallowed a crucial score from the Surrey men up the hill before HT left it 7-12 at the break.
However Dorking are 2nd for a reason and cranked up the pressure after the break scoring at regular intervals to lead 43-12 after (75) before Dylan Read powered over late on for a final 43-17. With both Worthing & Colchester losing however we stay up for another season and credit must go to the coaches and playing squad tonight as we maintain National 2 rugby for another season."
- Reproduced by Kind permission of Mr Adam King / HRFC
First Impression Analysis:
Definitely a game of two halves where the slope of the pitch and the flow of the wind looked to give the team playing downhill some benefit. As such playing up the slope in the first half, the hosts looked to be out of sorts for a while, as Havant started well and piled on the pressure. Our interplay looked confident and passes were largely sticking, our field position was generally in their half and their attacks were largely being met with robust defence - the highlight being the effectiveness of our scramble defence, where despite a pacy Dorking backline looking for every opportunity and presenting a real threat, some crucial Havant try saving tackles kept the game nicely in balance. Generating two well worked first half tries was no fluke but somewhat unexpected, while the denial of our 3rd try was a real shame (apparently the Ref took offence to some tit-for-tat shirt pulling and disallowed the try). The failure to get the 3rd try subsequently created a slight shift in the game momentum, and gave Dorking a better chance to consolidate and get themselves back into the game before half time, subsequently creating momentum enough to break through our defensive lines and get themselves a converted try before half time.
Second half was very different, in all truth we probably fell off our first half pace and intensity, while Dorking seemed to step up a gear. The pitch at Dorking is probably the widest we play on and when playing down the slope they generally looked to spread the ball wide at every opportunity to give their pacy back three a real go at us in space. Sure enough once they had established their momentum it wasnt long before they began stretching the defence and generating some quick scores. The speed and ease with which they achieved that probably highlighted an indication of their league potential and what was to come for the rest of the half. While we certainly remained in the game, we were definitely on the back foot and were having to be reactive to the increasing Dorking pressure. Our solid first half attacking presence was now largely put on hold, as Dorking had much of the ball and were happy to play down the slope with the wind into the corner. As the scoreline started to build, so the Dorking freedom of play improved, and to some extent our heads went down and body language started to look flat. Despite the scoreline deficit, on '78 it was nice to see we were able to generate some flow and developed a series of phases up in the red zone and finally were able to get it to the overlap, where Dylan Read dived over for try number 3. A quick rushed conversion attempt as we were now looking to grab a 4th try for the BP. As it was, it really wasn't necessary - both Colchester and Worthing had lost today, so in effect we are now safe and clear of the bottom two and will remain in the National League next season.
Notwithstanding the manner of this heavy defeat, the pace and intensity generated in the first quarter was good - we need to bottle that and bring it to every game, as the focus should now will be on generating a full 80 min clinical performance across both the last two games, I think this squad certainly owe it to themselves to play to their full potential and although we have seen glimpses throughout the season - we have yet to achieve that 80 min performance ππ #upthehill #noeasygames #nopressure #nextjob #buildinguptofinalflurry
Match Storyboard
1. Good lively start piling pressure on Dorking.
2. Eddie Lewis creating the break to offload to Jay Ashworth for the first score.
3. Joel Knight smashing his way through 3 tacklers to offload to Archie Cleeve for the second.
4. Shirt pulling shenanigans prevented the 3rd try (Jay Ashworth on a roll!)
5. Dorking fight back and regain momentum, nabbing a try before Half time (HT 7-12)
6. Second half - A Different Dorking and a somewhat subdued Havant. Pressure was on and our defence crumbled at times to let in soft tries.
7. Finally Havant build some momentum and develop a coherent attacking opportunity to put Dylan Read over in the corner.
8. FT 43-17 - tough day in surrey but following other associated results / we are safe in NAT2E for another season.
PS: Nice Carpark!
Match Image slideshow: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p807109269
Subscribe (Free) to the @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel to see the Coaches Game Reports/ Pre-match Comments.
]]>First Impression: HRFC v Oxford Quins (W24-19)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 1000+ (FPA Lunch Crowd + Quins Travellers)
Weather: Periodic slight light rain)/ Light Wind
Surface: AGP
Havant Rugby Football Club
Oxford Harlequins RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p125925952
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
Adam King's clinical Rugby-eye provides this week's pitchside report:
"A pulsating afternoon at the Lane as the blue & whites 1s secured a huge victory against Oxford Quins allowing us to close in on securing our National 2 status for another year. Delighted to be back under the posts for the 1s encounter which was high octane to say the least and had the Lane faithful reaching for the blood pressure tablets as a fine Oxford Quins outfit literally threw everything at us in a late comeback in which our D dug deep to hold on to the W.
The Lanemen were quick out of the blocks as at Henley last week and piled on the pressure & after Jerome Rudder crossed the whitewash only to be called back for a forward pass, the pack cranked up the pressure with eventually the big man Harrison Young battering over for 7-0. However Quins were level on 25 and had shown why they are big points scorers by playing a very expansive game. On 35 however we were back ahead after a Ben Holt steal at a scrum in our own half the 2 influential back row men Dylan Read & Dylan Lawley made 50 metres before Jack Phillips was hauled down short but the scavenger himself Wesley Dugan acrobatically crossed the whitewash for 12-7 on 35. A JK PG followed, but back came Quins with a converted try for 15-14 at the break.
An early JK PG stretched the lead to 18-14 before increasing forward dominance at scrum time & then after a long Holty break had put us deep in the red zone the big man Harrison Young crashed over again for 25-14 on 61. However if the large crowd at the Lane thought this was game over they should know by now this is a tough tough league & driven on by their RAF contingent Quins reduced the gap to 25-19;with a huge maul eventually getting it's rewards. Now in critical times the big players step up and with Quins in behind and seemingly over the whitewash enter one of the finest players to have graced the Lane in the form of the skip Joel Knight, who somehow not only stopped a Quins player in the act of scoring but hauled him backwards back over the whitewash!.
Small margins and after a late turnover in the Red Zone it ended 25-19 and 4 vital points. A huge huge show of character from all 20 today against a strong Oxford side and by my reckoning 4 pts needed in 3 games to be mathematically safe."
- Reproduced by Kind permission of Mr Adam King / HRFC
First Impression Analysis: As eloquently highlighted in Adam's piece, Its probably fair to say there was a huge amount of relief evident at the Lane today, from players, coaches and faithful crowd alike, once that final whistle went. This has been one hell of a first quarter, with numerous difficult games, some against the high flyers and some very close finishes - but close finishes don't always pay dividends, or secure bonus points and i sense it has been a difficult period to manage - both learning how to deliver at this level on a weekly basis and the mechanics of generating a credible output against the constraints of our squad injury list. Clearly both players and coaches have been feeling the building pressure of what might happen if we don't pull out of this ever steepening descent - while they've kept a smile, there has been a steely resolve behind the grin...that failure really isn't an option this season. As has been evident the bottom teams have been regaining form for a little while now, and our gradual descending league position has put us back into their reach. Clearly today's result has kept us clear of the melee, now with a 12point buffer - but as Adam highlights above - the jobs not finished and we will still need something in excess of the usual 46+ points, probably 48/49 points to reach mathematical safety. Those more learned 'Times readers' who frequent the pitchside rail and pontificate about our future chances have indicated all season that '46' is a good historical number to work towards, and while I bow to their strategic oversight.. if Colchester (our nearest chaser) could maintain their previous rich seam of performance, they could technically add another 15 points to their current tally and finish with 48 - but obviously not if we have anything to do with it, when we play them at the Lane! Another humdinger needing a big crowd. As such to prevent any chance of end of season 'party-pooping', 49 is the safest number to be aiming for - hence 4 more points from the last 3 games is the target. Exciting isn't it?
Looking ahead - It's been said all season, but there really are/will be no easy games in this league, especially when the bottom of the table is as lively as the top. For the last 3 fixtures - Its going to be about consistency and from my lowly vantage point, I'm seeing a nice trend developing in our hard fast starts, where we take the game to the opposition and demonstrate we can hold possession while posing a threat. We look clinical at this pace and it seems to be generating opportunities. Ideally we stamp our dominance on the game right at the beginning. We are obviously still limited on full selection and some of the boys are still carrying some niggly injuries - my one area of real concern is that we are routinely collecting yellow cards - effectively giving the opposition a chance to stretch us out of shape! IMHO unless its on the tryline, why are we tempting fate? To my reckoning the refs are probably now well-briefed and are clearly looking to stamp their authority on the game, while any decent #nat2e side doing proper analysis on us will probably have sussed a similar trend and will possibly try their luck targeting some of our individuals. Beware! To my mind, if we can cut this out and keep 15 players on the park for the full 80 - many of those close 'nearly games' could/would/should have been different and we would already be talking about next season now having established mid-table with no threat.
IMHO The next job is undoubtedly a tough one - Dorking (away) - they are still showing form, having last lost in mid-february against Quins. We are probably the underdog but have no fear of the outcome and there will be nothing to lose other than our need to secure every bonus point we can. That's a great 'underdog opportunity' to be able to snatch a game! Those of us who went to Dorking a couple of seasons back, know that its not always an easy place to play - the long grassy field is a bit lumpy and even uphill in places and they will take no prisoners. Bottom Line - whatever the outcome at Dorking, our real focus needs to remain on being able to deliver a solid performance against Colchester and Sevenoaks from within a full squad and finishing the season in style.ππ #upthehill #noeasygames #nextjob #everythingstillcounts
Match Storyboard
1. Good solid opening pace and intensity from Havant demonstrated real intent.
2. Haz Young piles over on the back of the posse to open our account. (7-0)
3. Quins come straight back and we are level by '25.
4. By '35 - our power carriers generate good go forward, finally releasing Jack Phillips who falls short of the corner but pops the ball up to Wes Dugan for the score.
5. Quins are not done - 15-14 at HT.
6. Second half - Good intensity after restart / Joel stretches our lead to 18-14.
7. Good kick chase and sniping at the holes before Haz young piles over again - 25-14.
8. Quins turn on the pressure - regaining 1 score (25-19) but miss their conversion.
9. Quins pressure is incessant and some heroic JK defence is evident on our own line.
10. The final whistle and there is some obvious relief at the lane. 4 League points now giving a 12 point buffer from the nearest chaser, who lost to Worthing today #noeasygames #next job: Dorking Away.
HRFC U16 County Cup Winning Champions
Match Image slideshow:
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]]>First Impression: Henley Hawks v HRFC (L20-13)
Venue: Dry Leas
Crowd: Approx 500
Weather: Very Bright/ Dry/ Nil Wind
Surface: Firm Short Grass
Havant Rugby Football Club
Henley Hawks RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p829400773
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
First Impression:
First Half - Quite a difficult error strewn game to watch. Havant started hard and fast and the increased pace of recycle really was generating space in an unsettled Henley defence - Havant subsequently just looked to attack the holes #simples. Sure enough on 10', having achieved decent field position and won a lineout in the killzone, we executed a nice catch and drive and Cam Boa went over on the back of the posse. The ref was happy with the picture. But by '23 mins, Ben Holt had got himself on the wrong side of official opinion and was subsequently sent to the bin - not long after Henley scored to draw level. At this level we really cannot afford to give the opposition an assist in creating more space by reducing numbers on the pitch. Then in a intense period of Henley attacks our now scrambling midfield defence was put under significant pressure, resulting in multiple tackles and some big hits where one subsequently looked to finish with an up-ending, there was the inevitable handbags and uproarβ¦ followed by the ref calling for a 2nd opinion from the assistant ... who after much gesticulation and flying hands subsequently adjudged there had been a tip tackle (fair call) β¦and then sent the wrong man (JK) to the bin (unfair call!). With the clock run down, Ben Holt was subsequently restored to play - but henley still had the space to exploit the midfield and by '40 had scored again(14-7). HT - for some it couldn't come quick enough!
Second Half - Relatively even and with playing numbers now back in balance, there looked to be some parity again, albeit on '60 Henley opted to take the penalty shot (17-7), which havant then recovered with a similar shot on '67 (17-10). Again more relative playing parity, but then another Hawks penalty on '70 converted (20-10), only for Havant to build a resurgence and a good solid last period where they began to win the Ref's whistle - finally getting a kickable penalty on '79. This time we rightly re-secured the losing Bonus point kicking the points, before regaining the field position in the overtime ... where we won another penalty. With the losing BP already secured - and the clock now in overtime - this was now perfectly set-up to take the βgo for brokeβ opportunity and kick to for the corner and make that catch and drive attempt to get the draw. What a difference a week makes!! ... but sadly our basics failed and we couldnβt get the kick to the corner into touch - Henley kept it in and smashed it out down field .. and that was that!
Summary: A strange fractious game - Henley looked a little flat despite playing in front of their home supporters and we seemed to be making more mistakes than normal. Playing 20 mins with two players under carded penalty just made the task harder. That said - we held parity in most contested areas throughout the game and barring the ref's official viewpoint, were definitely in amongst it though-out. While there can be no criticism of the adjudication, it has to be said that the flow of the whistle did seem to be conditioned by those who were protesting the loudest, or had caught the eye of the assistant whose input also proved to change decisions a number of times - including wrongly sending a key playmaker from the park on a yellow instead of the actual offender. These are tight games and they carry a reasonable level of adrenaline fuelled intensity, so its not surprising that mistakes are made and frustrations build (no oneβs perfect) - but for the game to flow properly.. there must be a level of adjudication consistency and today I think we probably failed to get that. Its not the personalties in charge, it probably the way the game unfolded - the standard swiss cheese of issues just lining up - some would say 'its just the run of the course' - but from my perspective itβs a part of the game we need to manage better - just donβt give the officials the chance to impact your play with their whistle. Clearly for those of us fighting for every decision these days - these βofficialβ decisions carry a much greater level of magnitude and impact. That said - In all fairness not withstanding a somewhat 'moderate' performance in the first 3 quarters, our last quarter looked to be building the right kind of robust Havant response, and notwithstanding the injury upheavals managed during the game, we actually managed to almost swing the game momentum back in our favour - scrum dominance and breakdown penalties subsequently started to come our way and as we neared the end we had built a nice run of play, were keeping the ref happy and finally secured the Losing BP with a converted penalty. Clearly the proof of the pudding was how we might respond in those last few minutes - happily we kept the pressure on and managed to set ourselves up for a grandstand recovery ... sadly our execution failed us, the kick didn't make touch and the game was ended (L20-13). A very different game to last week, but happily the final culminating piece of game management was delivered in a more logical order of priority for the purists. Donβt be surprised there is significant level of pressure being felt across this group at the moment and we (lane faithful) need to do our bit to help relieve the end of season ground-rush as the inevitable knifefight for survival points kicks-in. As is mentioned weekly - They are all going to count! ππ#nextjob #neversaynever #noeasygames #everythingcounts #upthehill
Storyboard
1. Good solid opening pace and intensity from Havant with strong carries and sniping runs
2. Havant get first score (0-7) Cam Boa diving under the Hawks from a catch and drive.
3. Ben Holt goes to the Bin '23/ Henley Score with relative ease (7-7)
4. Joel Knight to the Bin '35 (Wrong Man Ref!) / Henley manage another score (14-7) / HT
5. Second half - Better Havant intensity after restart / but still a penalty imbalance to the opposition / (17-7) 60'
6. Finally Havant regain some pressure and eventually the penalty recovery (17-10) '67
7. More Henley Pressure / another Penalty (20-10)
8. Havant final resurgence - resulting in a Good solid period of Havant pressure / penalty (20-13) '79 - Losing BP now secured #goagain
9. .. Havant keep coming with More pressure on Henley .. and win another penalty - this is our chance! With Losing BP already in the Bag and the clock in overtime - Havant can now go for corner to set up catch & Drive to potentially grab the draw β¦ but the kick doesn't make touch - End of game! #bonuspointsarekey
#noeasygames #upthehill #laneeffectnext
Next Job: Oxford (Hooks Lane)
Match Image slideshow:
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]]>First Impression: HRFC v BSE (L32-35)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 800
Weather: Very Bright/ Dry/ Nil Wind
Surface: AGP
Havant Rugby Football Club
BSE RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p26826936
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
First Impression:
Summary: Since the beginning of the year, we have had a string of pretty tough games against sides now fighting for positions in the top half of the league. Sure enough we have generated solid performances but have generally been outgunned and come away with a loss. We should acknowledge that most teams have now consolidated on their early season performances and are are beginning to play with more confidence, making less mistakes - if anything the rugby has intensified and become more attritional, which ultimately takes its toll on a squad like ours. In truth we are still suffering from that enduring injury list that keeps impacting our selection options, and to date our league standing has been gradually sliding. This fixture is the rematch after the epic fightback in Suffolk and probably still carried some meaningful lasting memory for the BSE squad, having had a almost certain 5 points snatched off them in the last moments of the game at their place. Today the setting was very different, bright sunny AGP and no need for the relative delights of floodlit play. There was a big expectant crowd at the lane, many coming from the well supported M&J lunch session, plus some hardy travellers from BSE - consequently there was probably going to be a solid crowd reaction whenever the play generated enough excitement.
First half - We started well and in the first quarter looked to be generating some real pace on the ball with players carrying well into contact, creating problems for the BSE defence. Both sides looked relatively well balanced and each defence looked to be holding up coherently. That said Havant pressure established field position and by '11 Ben Griffen had started our account, finding space on the outside to get over the line (7-0) taking his opposite number with him. BSE then seemed to kick into a gear and once we lost Wayne Dugan to a Yellow (High Ball Challenge) off the restart, they were better able to exploit the extra space and build pressure - taking a relatively soft try after breaking through our try line defence to score close to the posts (7-7), only to regenerate field position immediately after the restart and manage to score again off a catch-and drive from a lineout kick to the corner (7-14). Meanwhile with Wayne D now back on - our manning levels couldn't improve as we suffered another yellow (Haz Young). Surprisingly, despite our reduced numbers, we maintained our composure and attacking prowess, getting ourselves back up into the BSE redzone where we put Wes Dugan over before Half Time (14-21).
Second half - we looked more fired up and certainly began playing with more intensity, generating some real pressure on the opposition. Having secured field position and run a number of phases to upset the opposition defence, we eventually spread it wide through good hands to let Wayne Dugan barge his over (19-21) on 45' - and at this point there looked to be a tangible shift in the game momentum. We seemed to be in the ascendancy and our attacks were seemingly gaining more ground - probably as a result of having the same number of players on the park. On 54', working off the normal post-lineout phase play, Jay Ashworth hit a great line, cutting back into the space behind the ruck and taking a short ball off Haz Young from the base, close enough to be able to get himself over for the try and subsequently take the lead (24-21). Naturally the Lane volume went up with a more definite ring to the crowd response. Still riding high, we definitely looked as though we were now generating better control of our possession, their body language was down and by '58 had worked the ball back out wide again, round their defensive edge where Jack Phillips (recently subbed on to the wing for Jamo Wise) managed to beat two chasing defenders, stepping through their cover tackles, to dive over in the corner (29-21). This now looked like we were on top and holding real momentum - and dare I say ..potentially looking at a mini-repeat of our last BSE experience?
Sadly not - no sooner had we restarted, BSE reset and managed to get themselves back up the other end, where they worked hard to stretch our defence. The Subsequent loss of Wayne Dugan to a post collision HIA probably unsettled the defensive coherency, and before long their backs subsequently generated a nice 'draw and pass' movement to put their left winger into a bit of space close to the line for the try, which was duly converted (29-28). Now flowing into the last part of the game ('67) with the scoreline teetering on the edge, Havant were quite rightly taking no chances - a penalty close to the posts was converted for 3 pts (32-28) - and probably most of the Lane were hoping that that would be enough to take us through to the end of the game for the win. That said - a resurgent BSE, (those same chaps who had a similar game nicked off them last time we met) weren't done, and successfully re-established at our end and on '75 managed to get their Centre across the line for his second try of the day - which duly provided another crucial converted score (32-35).
So at this point we could hope to expect 2 BP (4T BP plus losing BP) - while its not a win, it probably was a fair assessment of where were in the game - my sense is the team were still focussed on securing that win and so when we were awarded a kickable penalty, instead of taking the draw (35-35), we instinctively opted to go to the corner for the 5pt win - a Ballsy call! I must admit there was some obvious surprise amongst those of us watching, including the wiser ones supping their wine. This was undoubtedly a big call and showed a strong level of confidence from the boys... but based on a decision like that, you then have to deliver a pretty solid well-executed 'catch and drive' for it to come off. Maybe there were still some lingering memories of what happened last time in Suffolk! While definitely a commendable attitude and worthy of polite respect... Sadly we couldn't meet the requirement, our basics let us down, we didn't get the driving platform and we didn't get the winning score. We subsequently finished with a Loss instead of a well-earned Draw and as such have come away with only 2 points, when we were probably worth 3 and could have secured the draw by kicking the penalty and running the clock down. Could have.. Should have..Would Have!
On-field decision making and the gameplan rationale have been mentioned before - but in my experience decisions like this should usually be based on a Timeline/ Scoreline/ Risk type assessment - and in this instance the real risk was 'Not achieving the Winning score' and the impact was potentially 'Failing to get sufficient league points to create a healthy gap from the chasing pack'. The so what?- well we now only sit 10 points clear of the two bottom teams in the league, who are both chasing hard and intermittently pulling off 5pt wins. The extra point would (with 20/20 hindsight) have given us another league table position above Sevenoaks. Does that matter at this stage? It certainly might help reduce the pressure on the coaches/ players and while I obviously applaud our side for their bold attacking stance (certainly no criticism), my inner 'slightly more conservative' league minded sense tells me, we probably had a better chance of Joel K slotting the penalty and securing us the extra point (draw) by what was a relatively easy angled kick (despite Joel having had a 'poor day' on the boot by his own standards) - than delivering the more risky 'Catch and Drive' against a side who were still actively competitive in all areas of play. The other factor having chatted with those wiser ones on the fenceline: a Draw is not a Loss! Theres undoubtedly a psychological difference, and one that might subsequently pay dividends for the bigger games we now have ahead of us - Henley, Oxford Quins etc where we really need a confident team and a robust performance with points.
The Bottom line - IMHO I think we've definitely reached the point where we really should be looking after the smaller easier strategic gains (individual BPs) when they are being made readily available to us, rather than chasing the bigger and more difficult dividends. Our defence is a little leaky and although we are scoring a good number tries - we are also letting a load in as well - we might need to focus more on reinforcing that defensive effort to generate more resilient game sustainability. We obviously need to maintain our league position / certainly can afford to go no lower - and in doing so, we definitely need to start making it difficult for the chasing pack to overhaul us - it will be the easy points that make prizes and this could go to the wire! #neversaynever #noeasygames #everythingcounts #upthehill
Storyboard
1. Home game , big crowd and sunny dry weather - perfect rugby conditions.
2. Havant start well and first 10 mins look to carrying well and certainly generating good pace.. (7-0)
3. BSE respond after Havant win a Yellow for an High ball challenge and then again winning another Yellow Card (7-14)
4. BSE started to gain momentum on the scoreboard while Havant win another Yellow Card
4. Fightback towards end of first half lifts the mood.
5. havant restart second half with a bang..
6. Havant regain the lead and look to be able to hold it until time.
7. BSE fightback and regain the lead with another converted try.
8 Havant win a penalty in the dying moment - option to kick the penalty and take the draw (35-35) or try to secure the win (kick to the corner).
Havant go for broke - but it doesnt come off. #noeasygames
#noeasygames #upthehill
Next Job: Henley (Away)
Match Image slideshow:
Subscribe (Free) to the @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel to see the Coaches Game Reports/ Pre-match Comments.
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First Impression: Old Albanian v HRFC (L44-30)
Venue: Old Albanian RFC
Crowd: Approx 400
Weather: Bright/ Dry/ Nil Wind
Surface: Superb Grass (ex-Saracens Training Camp)
Havant Rugby Football Club
Old Albanian RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p15528886
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
First Impression:
First Half - Old Albanian knew their surface well and came out fast, quickly establishing some expansive attacks and a 12-0 lead/buffer against which Havant had to work their way back into the game. Happily it didnt take long before we had established some usable field position in the right area of the pitch and were starting to threaten their line with steady phase play. Wes Dugan eventually taking a nice offload in space from Jacob Ashworth, who catrried well, crossing the line to dot down close to the posts (12-7). Having subsequently established ourselves and shaken off the start, we began to play better rugby and for the second quarter looked to be applying some real pressure, eventually drawing OA into rushing their defence and subsequently making mistakes, winning a yellow (26') and 3 extra points (12-10) for a high tackle, which by (29') had become two OA players down. At this point with OA down to 13, we probably should have been able to turn the screw and secure the game. Establishing field position, Kicking to the corner multiple times - we pressed very hard and coupled with 5 yard scrums were applying pressure deep in their red zone ... only to be held out without scoring by some clever (probably unseen) containment play - on another day we might have come away with a Penalty try, but to their credit OA had worked us out, contained sean and co and were good with their groundwork, providing the picture the ref needed to see and subsequently survived our attacks... only to breakout and score themselves (19-10). Further pressure on the Havant defence subsequently saw a 10 min card for Haz Young (High Tackle?) and the OA score bump up (22-10). We finished the First half having had a lot of useful possession but with too many unnecessary errors negating some good attacking phase play.
Second Half - Havant came out reconsoiidated and set to work, by 44' we had recovered the penalty deficit (22-13), only to let OA establish field position again and start accruing more scores. By 66' it was 34-13 and the game looked to be running away from us, as injuries started to mount in our backline. Despite that - we still had some opportunities to create space, eventually Jamo Wise found space out wide for a relatively easy run-in score (34-18), but OA kept attacking and by (73') we were staring at 44-18 with no bonus points. Normally there wouldn't be much to gain at this point - but after one ill-timed high tackle resulting in an injured Hav player and an OA red Card (77') - the landscape changed.. there was now more space on park to attack. Havant definitely now had an opportunity to chase hard for some return on their afternoon's efforts. Regaining possession and pushing wide, Wes Dugan got over on 80' (44-23) and now the race was effectively on to recover a bonus point with a 4th try. OA were still playing - but happily we recovered the ball in middle ground, worked our way back up the field retaining possession, won a penalty, kicked to the corner and the rest was the result of a standard bundle of big heavy men throwing themselves at the line. Haz Young finally took the driving score with the extras being added by Joel K (44-30). Not a win, but a very positive last quarter, where we demonstrated some real intent - like everyone else around the ground was thinking, imagine if we had kicked into gear slightly earlier! #upthehill
Summary: Not a game we ever had total control of, they always seemed to look more fluent on the ball than us, rapidly switching attacking direction or generating counter attack when given the chance, but there were definitely periods where we looked the stronger and were able to apply really solid pressure to generate scoring opportunities. There is still a lack of relative pace against some teams outwide, and we are probably still short of a fast heavy ball carrier generating real 'Go Forward' possession, but we are adapting within our constraints and playing with the limited possession we can generate. With the injury list now restoring itself - who knows we might see greater options for selection in coming weeks. One thing for certain, this team hasn't lost its gritty edge, there is a dogged determination to fight with whatever ball we get hold of - as seen today in the Bonus Point recovery. Despite having had a difficult run of 5 - all the games in this half of the season are now going to be tight - as the proximity of the the relegation zones tightens ones focus, we simply need to ensure we can stay clear of the melee by either generating 5 point winning performances or snatching bonus points wherever we can. Everyone now appears to be generating form and all of these games will be proper scraps. All points will count from here on in as the chasers below us are now gathering some momentum #neversaynever #everythingcounts #upthehill
Storyboard
1. OA came out quickly and established an early lead. (12-0)
2. Havant regained composure and started applying pressure at the other end.
3. OA won 2 yellow cards - and Havant recovered a converted score (12-7) before OA finished the half with another score & Penalty. (22-7)
4. Second Half OA continued to pull away on the scoreboard and remained just too far ahead for havant to pose a real threat.
5. Havant continued to work hard on the limited possession they had, eventually grabbing an all important 4 try bonus point as consolation.
6. A single bonus point for our efforts after a period of real focussed attack in the last 5 minutes of the game. Now 12 in the table with the chasing pack some 13 points away - we need to take every point we can #noeasygames #upthehill
Next Job: Bury St Edmunds (Hooks Lane)
Match Image slideshow:
Subscribe (Free) to the @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel to see the Coaches Game Reports/ Pre-match Comments.
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First Impression: HRFC v Barnes (L29-36)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 800 Faithful/ Ladies Lunch
Weather: Cold / Dampish / Nil Wind
Surface: AGP
Havant Rugby Football Club
Barnes RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p713822293
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context as you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories or differences of opinion, but this is nothing more than a simple collection of touchline thoughts to fire your imagination for next time ... and not the official match report. #IMHO
First Impression: A game of two clear halves.. and one where we probably demonstrated that establishing momentum is key to the game at this level.
First half Barnes came out of the blocks in a very workman-like manner, took field position and quickly established a well-drilled attacking posture to subsequently take two early well worked scores. The London side were clearly showing their prowess and demonstrating why they are currently second in the league. That said Havant were competitive and resilient, but having quickly lost a player to a card (Hav 8 crossing) we were suddenly under most of the pressure as Barnes took the lions share of the play (0-12). By the second quarter, happily Havant had regained their composure, matching the physicality at the breakdown and subsequently secured a penalty goal and although Barnes took another try (3-19) we were now back in the game. While under this building scoreline pressure, Havant finally started to generate more coherent approach play and after a routine kick to the corner, catch and drive Haz Young finally got over the line at the bottom of the pile (8-19). Almost on cue - Not long after this score, we lost Haz to an 'unfortunate' yellow, (that problematical grey area of when is a maul a maul) - whereupon Barnes, now with more space to play in, quickly generated two more scores before HT (8-29).
Its probably fair to say that most of the large Havant crowd probably felt 'the writing was on the proverbial wall' for the second half, and if the lads couldn't find something extra, we wouldn't be taking any points today.
Half time came and following a bit of refocus/consolidation, a few enforced changes, a reshaped Havant lineup came out for the second half - if we were going to get something out of the day, it needed to be more assertive than the first. Sure enough Hav started to build some early momentum, our defence remained strong and resilient, the groundwork started to look more energetic, and our pace of recycle looked to have increased - so much so, the Barnes defensive structure seemed to be being rushed, unable to reset quick enough - thereby creating gaps and offering some clear space to attack. Wes Dugan was first, running passed a number of defenders to get over the line close to the posts on 42 min (15-29) after a committed carry. A similar effort from the restart put us back into the Barnes red zone and once again generating steady phase play, attacking off a rapid recycle close to the base of the breakdown, with multiple carriers including the midfield backs offering their services - it was finally Sean Shepherd breaking free and bundling over for the next score (22-29).. by now the somewhat frozen first half crowd had started to warm up, and were becoming more vocal with 'memories of our day at Bury St Edmunds' being recollected. Listening to the Barnes rebrief after our third score behind their goalposts, there was clearly a bit of shock and awe for the 2nd placed league contenders, they were having to acknowledge our strengths, our change of pace and they reaffirmed the need to get themselves back into the game doing the basics right - the term they used was 'lets enjoy the challenge!' Havant, now with the momentum were seemingly able to match the Barnes pace and once again generated another attacking opportunity whereupon Ben Holt snatched the ball at the breakdown and burrowed deep close to the line before being smothered by the Barnes cover defence, (the hampshire line committee were unavailable for immediate comment, but the RFU linesman was superbly positioned to confirm the score!) ..the extras came from a well executed conversion outside by Joel K and we were back in the game again! (29-29). Barnes to their credit, showed their maturity and experience - they remained unfazed and having shaken themselves down were quick to reply through generation of well-crafted field position and solid approach work whereupon once close enough to the line they drove over to recover the lead on 68' (29-36).
Our real opportunity came next, when having restarted and regained field position we were now forcing the pace, such that Barnes subsequently lost their 10 to a rushed high tackle on Harry Carr (yellow Card). Whereupon we now had an opportunity for approx 7 minutes to play with a man-up advantage, and so after a period of good attacking play in their Red Zone close to their line - we were challenging the defence close to the line with waves of leached carriers but hitting a well-formed defence in close - to my mind our line fever should have been contained to simply manipulating the defence, turning slow ball into quick ball and firing it outside to where the space now was to utilise the easy overlap. We tried once but failed due to inaccurate passing and alignment and went back to pummelling the line. This was probably a natural response because the momentum of play was with the second half forwards as such I can understand why we stuck with 'Route 1'. As it was - we didn't get the required score to take the lead, we lost the ball and subsequently the field position. This was probably all that Barnes needed - but with a mistimed tackle we lost our man-up advantage as we won a yellow, whereupon they held their field position and put us under pressure subsequently re-threatening our losing bonus point until time ran out. The game finally came to a close - FT L29-36.
Summary: It is clear this game is about confidence and momentum, and we play better when we have both - there is no doubt everyone did their bit today, but we probably had opportunities to do better. While the coaches will probably be 'satisfied' with securing 2 Bonus Points (primary essential league focus based on our previous recent performances), I think they will probably have noted that we allowed the opposition to regain control of the game at a time (10 mins) when the dice were effectively cast against them - so in the last 5 mins when the odds were heavily stacked in our own favour, we found ourselves at the wrong end of the pitch defending a hard-won losing bonus, instead of driving home a potential momentum advantage to achieve the Draw ...if not a Win! #closinggamesout
Bottom Line: Although we coped well today (Second Half) - There is no doubt we are still missing the heavy ball carriers we started the season with, and we lack some attacking pace in the backs as we try to regain from our attritional injury list - hopefully we might see some of the longer absentees returning soon, certainly two of the characters are now back in training. If you haven't done the maths, then a cursory examination of the table positions highlights we should probably be ok if we can get to 45-50+ points, but those teams below us in the league are now gathering momentum and moving up to within striking range, some are even gathering winning form as they recover their mojo and start to take scalps. As such from our perspective, if we want to guarantee staying up, we are going to need every bonus point we can get - they will all count - these next few games (March) are going to be absolutely key and while securing a win has been somewhat difficult in this new year period, we now need be focussed on some pretty significant battles ahead, ones where we will need to generate a fully fit team delivering highly a coherent performance that is competitive enough to challenge for a win or at the very least secures every bonus point we can muster.. one thing for certain - there's going to be no 'dead rubbers' in this league over the next 7 games. #everythingcounts #allin #upthehill
Match Storyboard
1. Early pressure from the London Outfit quickly established a two score lead
2. Early exchanges in our own red zone carried some significant pressure
3. Barnes achieved some quick scores although our defence looked relatively solid
4. Second Half saw some enforced injury changes - but with the change Havant started to build momentum
5. Robust forward play at pace generated more opportunities for havant - and as we drew level, Barnes clearly looked to be under some pressure.
6. Havant scores continued but Barnes weathered the storm and although losing a man to a yellow for the last 10 mins - held us off long enough to take the winning points.
7. Only 2 Bonus Points for our efforts - although it probably could have been more if we had maintained our grip on the game during the last 10 mins. #noeasygames #upthehill
Next Job: Old Albanian (Away 1 Mar)
Match Image slideshow:
Subscribe (Free) to the @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel to see the Coaches Game Reports/ Pre-match Comments.
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Venue: The Slade
Crowd: Approx 400
Weather: Cold / Damp / Soggy underfoot!
Havant Rugby Football Club
Tonbridge Juddians RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p713822293
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context before you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories, but this serves as a simple collection of touchline thoughts and is certainly not an official match report. #IMHO
First Impressions
Match Summary: As highlighted in Will's pre-match comments, this game was probably not about gaining league points but more about resetting the required standard after a poor showing against Canterbury and generating a worthwhile performance that would act as a springboard for the key competitive games coming later in the season. So with a slightly rearranged side (apparently domestic duties were calling some regulars away!) Havant arrived in Tonbridge to find a heavily soaked, soft muddy and very slippery surface that probably would take the pace off the game, and knuckled down to a full 80 min session of physical hard graft. We fared well in the early period, using well directed kick-chase to make their defenders have to turn on the slippery surface and certainly put them under pressure, getting close to the line a couple of times. Although playing to the corners when given the option - TJ defence held us out and our first half points came from the boot, while TJ had more success attacking with their heavy forwards subsequently driving over for a number of tries. That said - the game was under control and we were looking good to reach half time 10-9 down, having maintained our defensive composure and generated a number of attacking opportunities and had largely handled the TJ threat well. Subsequently losing a carded player in the dying moments of the first half meant TJ now had more weight and momentum to bundle over once more just before halftime (17-9), which probably tipped the balance of play in their favour. That said the Hav coaches would probably have been quite content with the team's 1st half performance, particularly the solid committed defence and our ability to take the game to the opposition generating a number of chances. We were definitely not being rolled over.
Second Half started with no real change in conditions and the pitch still very much sapping any real pace out of the game - havant continued to fight hard for ball, contesting every breakdown but another carded player just gave TJ more space to exploit and they quickly grabbled another forward driving try. That said, even with a reduced entourage we were still winning penalties, and with an attacking mindset to stay in the game, a kick to the corner, an initial catch-and-drive whereupon in the subsequent post-lineout phases, Archie Cleeve found himself with the ball on the 5M line with just two defenders to beat - and so he did β¦with just a little help from his support, the extras provided by Joel (22-16). Not withstanding this short resurgence, even with our carded players back on the pitch, it was clear TJ still had sufficient power and drive to wear us down. This coupled with the appearance of their normal first team fly-half from the bench, who quickly regenerated some pace on the game, very ably pushing us deep into our corners, with his runners chasing his kicks - was soon applying a lot more pressure to our scramble defence, subsequently resulting in two more tries - one of which the Hampshire Line jury is still analysing! (39-16).
While Not a resounding spectacle of rugby for the casual observer, it was definitely a good solid committed performance from Havant. While no points for our efforts, we maintained our shape and cohesion and effectively managed to put up a good fight against very credible league leaders. Undoubtedly the surface helped drag the pace of the game down a notch, but never-the-less no one in blue and muddy hoops looked out of place, no one shied away from the gnarly groundwork and if anything, some of our newer names served up a nice little selection problem for next week ... so thats all good! This run of games clearly doesn't get any easier - Barnes are next, they are now second in the league, theyβre definitely looking at our feed - but we know we've come close to them before - if we can consolidate on todays performance my sense is it might be a good one to watch at the Lane next week.
Match Storyboard
1. Cold, Soggy and Damp. was always going to be a Hard Slog! We worked hard to put them under pressure and upset their normal flow..
2. First half TJs looked strong in the close quarter battle and subsequently managed 2 tries off forward drives, Havant kept themselves in the game via penalties in the Red Zone.
3. Havant generated some good solid first phase in the conditions and worked hard to create attacking opportunities putting TJ under periodic pressure.
4. Never quite out of touch Havant battled hard throughout, and kept TJs under pressure.
5. This was a committed performance. while not perfect it probably is an indicator of the gritty performance this squad can bring to the game.
6. With Nothing to lose .. we came away with the desired performance and better prepared for the next batch of games. #noeasygames
Next Job: Barnes (Hooks Lane)
Match Image slideshow:
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Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 850 / Large Sponsors Lunch Crowd Plus travelling Canterbury Support
Weather: Cold / Dry / Light Winds - Calm before the next storm!
Havant Rugby Football Club
Canterbury RFC
Match images are now available at: https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p713822293
Coaches Comment: @HavantRugbyFootballClub You Tube Channel
First impressions provides a short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Hopefully it serves to provide a bit of match context before you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories, but this serves as a simple collection of touchline thoughts and is certainly not an official match report. #IMHO
First Impressions
Match Summary: This was probably never going to be an easy game. Havant are still finding the new year league fixtures difficult at the moment, while Canterbury are taking some big scalps and gaining momentum. Carrying a few absentees, we were still not at full strength but on the balance of recent performances, the relative disposition probably wasn't going to affect the outcome. First half was a demonstration by Canterbury of the game played well, playing at pace and moving the ball to attack the space. They looked settled and confident, playing to the pace of the referee, while we were generally chasing the tempo and trying to establish a coherent defence in front of their next attack - needless to say the ref didn't always agree with our 'picture of the game' and we subsequently had a high number of early penalties awarded against us, giving away hard earned field position. That said, happily - it wasn't all one way and while the scoreline was mounting up (HT 0-30), we did generate some solid attacking phases, particularly when we could raise the speed of recycle and start to punch holes through their unsettled defensive line. The highlight of the first half was perhaps the Canterbury cross-field kick to score, where having isolated our fullback, they executed a simple cross field kick to catch and score - always nice to watch good rugby, this was skilfully executed and worthy of polite recognition!
Second half, Canterbury looked set to continue their attacking form, but we came back-out with a increased level of determination and dogged resilience - and to our credit we started to win some of the confrontations and secured more possession, enabling a greater level of attacking intent and field position. While we were obviously still on the end of a large losing score deficit, but our attitude was different and our body language more upbeat - when we could, we started to take the game to them - which started to pay dividends and certainly began to raise the home crowd hopes and expectations. That said - whatever we did, if it wasnt perfect, the opposition were always quick to counter. Canterbury continued to demonstrate their reactive ability to switch from Defence into Attack and when presented with the ball, were always quick to capitalise on any opportunity - looking for the the holes, spreading it wide or simply using their obvious strength and pace to exploit our scramble defence. The second half score rate was similar to the first half, but that said the loss of two players to yellow cards in the final 10 mins just created more space and made the defensive job even harder - offsetting the scoreline for our better second half performance.
So not too pretty to watch - once we had all witnessed the early exchanges, it was fairly obvious why Canterbury are taking scalps and sitting high in the league. My one overall observation was that we were playing against a side where all the players (tight five included) were clearly confident to run and pass the ball at pace and had the fitness and conditioning to be able to cover the attacking and defensive requirements - with a quick precise defensive reset, standard two-man tackles, support runners swamping any attacking breach of our defences and a real high intensity commitment defending their own Red Zone.
For an independent it would have been good to watch, for the home crowd hosting their sponsors - less so! We are clearly in a run of tough fixtures at the moment and next game will be no easier - I know the coaches will be asking the boys to dig deep to regroup, consolidate, refresh and put this run of performances behind them, lift themselves in time ready for the next challenge. Rugby is about playing with confidence and trusting the team outputs - our squad has clearly got potential, but we need to proactively play to our strengths and generate a whole game performance and be able to respond quicker when we do make mistakes rather than let the opposition back-in on the offensive. Refocussing on the basics and refining the simple stuff, as Gatland would say 'being the best at the stuff that needs no talent!'. From my experience - Teams that are prepared to honestly assimilate the analysis from their losses are the ones who will really learn and normally will become better, stronger and more coherent as a group. It undoubtedly requires total commitment and buy-in and will take some time to rebuild the momentum again - there is no quick fix but having watched this squad fight their way out of some tough situations over the years, I'm confident they will quietly be able to workout what needs to change and get on with it. Next league game is in 2 weeks against Tonbridge - so absolutely no expectation or real pressure to win against the league leaders ..just a great opportunity to re-establish a level of performance and take what gains we can. #upthehill
Match Storyboard
1. Cold but dry .. tough fixture ahead / Harrisons 150th Cap
2. Canterbury looked fluent and very capable, playing with real width and pace
3. Every opportunity to counter, converting defence into attack was taken, forcing havant to scramble to cover them
4. Canterbury Field position was well managed, and they even generated a superb Cross field kick to score opportunity, targeting their taller man.
5. Second Half - we showed more Resilience and were able to generate some possession taking the game to them when we could.
6. Lots of near miss approaches to the line with Cam Boa finally getting over for a well-earned score.
7. But the Rest of the half was spent defending hard as any errors we made were being punished severely
8. Never an easy lesson to take - but a very real demonstration of what's required at this level - bigger faster stronger. I'm pretty sure this Squad will muscle through this difficult spell, maintain their composure, resolve the issues, recover and regenerate their to their normal standard of play - ready for the next their chance in this league.
Next Job: Tonbridge Juddians (Tonbridge)
Match Image slideshow:
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Venue: Goddington Lane
Crowd: Approx 150
Weather: Damp, and Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
westcome Park RFC
First impressions is just a short sharp back-brief of 'what just happened on the pitch' for anyone who couldn't get to the game. Sadly No time to access match video, just a fading memory so all observations carry a health warning for their clinical accuracy. If you want the formal review and comment, best wait for Will Kβs piece to camera later in the week on the new HRFC youtube channel.
Match images are now available at:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p462128469
First Impressions
Match Summary: Described as a 'must win' by the coaching staff, the boys clearly needed to exercise their demons after their visit to Guernsey last week. Following what would have been a fairly intensive training week putting right those quick fixes and establishing a proper level of coherency, they were probably well regrouped but this game was never going to be a gimme - it was going to be hard against a side that seems to be generating some momentum but we always stood a chance of getting some return on a decent performance. Damp and cold, negligible wind - it was clear the boys had arrived in a focussed mood and the first half was a clear demonstration of their solid defensive commitment. Westcombe Park with what looked like a bigger scrum, generated some expansive phase play, playing to the corners and looking to saturate and breach the defence, but Havant held firm for most of the time. Indeed their defensive shift in the first half was very impressive, both on our own line and deep in the opposition red zone, with the only real challenge being presented by the WP 6 and 8 who were clearly strong and capable runners, who carried well, breaking tackles as they went and routinely seemed to provide the target for the WP support runners in attack. While both teams were level at half time (10-10), the balance of play was probably aligned to the WP output, who seemed to be penetrating further on their attacks only to be denied by our impressive defensive effort. The positive takeaway - we looked to be in control, hadn't suffered any injuries and might now be able to turn up the pace in the second half.
Second half was somewhat different, not with standing an early Havant penalty to take the lead (10-13), WP continued to build on their first half performance and were making Havant work hard to live with them. What scraps of possession we got were intermittent and largely too far from the WP red zone to enable any real momentum to build. Approaching the end of the 3rd quarter, Joel got a card for a high tackle, and this seemed to create the space that WP needed to kick into gear. They quickly got another converted try (17-13) and looked set to turn up the pace. Happily Havant survived the JK 10min absence unscathed, but for a penalty (20-13). ... and then like many of the games in this league, there was suddenly a burst of WP try scoring, our defence was stretched and through good support running, WP scored twice in relatively quick succession. (34-13). What had looked like a Losing Bonus Point performance suddenly looked very bleak - Happily in the dying minutes of the game, and probably one of our very few attacking approaches to their line, Alfie Wainscoat managed to get over after a passing move and underlined the potential that this squad has got. L34-20 - No points and a few handbags for out troubles!
Clearly as the coaches will have already identified, if we can't routinely dominate every stage of our first phase possession then we are denying ourselves a proper attacking platform and committing to having to live off scraps from defensive spillage or turnovers. The reality of today's output seemed to highlight there is still some work to do in our lineout and while the scrum did well to hold its own against some big lumps - we probably weren't seeing the quality of 1st phase possession we needed to give our backs a chance to properly exploit their opponents. In a similar manner while our backrow did very well containing a lively and robust WP threat for most of the time - we weren't really able to really replicate any regular threat in any meaningful manner.
A Solid performance defensively which the boys should take heart from, but for second half loss of focus we might have been more competitive throughout the second half and prevented WP getting their tails up and effectively exploiting their pace.
Match Story Board
1. Damp and Cold .. Playing in red to ensure no clash with any WP strip
2. Early exchanges were physical and tough...
3. Damp conditions made the ball slippery and possession changed hands numerous times as players mishandled..
4. Scoring efforts were largely balanced in the first half - Haz Young Burrowing deep to get under the WP Lumps for Havant..
5. Second half - saw a slight change in WP intensity and more opportunities from their better runners being developed. Havant held their ground for most of the time ...bar one short window in the last 10 mins..
6. Consolation try by Alfie W who muscled his way over the line in the dying moments.
7. This is a tight group and there'll be some honest reflection this coming week as they work out how to overcome the challenges they are currently facing.
Next Job: Canterbury (Hooks Lane)
Match Image slideshow:
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Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 1100
Weather: Damp, Windy and Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
Worthing Rugby
First impressions is simply a quick short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for those of you who couldn't get to the game, hopefully to provide a bit of match context before you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories, but these are essentially just a collection of private touchline thoughts & certainly not an official match report. #IMHO
Match images are now available at:
https://www.zenfolio.com/windandsurfimages/e2/p646897924
First Impressions
Context:
- Attritional season to date, havant currently have 22 Senior players unavailable .
- Table position seems to offer no context to the NAT2E games being delivered
- Every game in this league generates a competitive fixture and there really are no easy games...
Match Summary: What should have been a fixture with Havant carrying momentum into the contest, looked very different. Certainly not a bottom of the table contender fighting for their life against a mid-table consolidator. Instead we had a lively well-balanced fixture that for the first 15 mins left both sides level, however by 16 min, Havant had generated suitable field position and were able to mount a series of attacking phases, subsequently stretching the defence and passing wide round the edge to put Ben Griffen over. Havant continued to apply pressure and with a penalty close to the posts elected to convert rather than really maximise their ascendancy. While clearly not the wrong decision...we were in the ascendency, we had plenty of time on the clock, our lineout was functioning and the risk created by not achieving a score was relative and minimal - but this could have been the trigger to put pressure on the opposition. Perhaps it was an underlying indicator that we were actually fragile in some areas, that selection had been difficult and that we were now limping into the christmas break as quick as we could get there. As it was a simple 3 points is difficult to argue with .. as long as you can maintain the momentum and regain field position... we couldn't and for the rest of the 2nd Quarter - Worthing seemed to gain all the momentum, while their lively outside backs began creating more opportunities around the park and they even managed to apply pressure such that we succumbed to a card (Jacob Knight) and by the end of the half were 8-12 down. Hmmm!
So it was good to see a rejuvenated and fired-up Havant come out second half and immediately set to work putting the opposition to the sword. We were now playing with greater intensity and by 44 had put Ben Griffen over for his second try, with the balance of play shifting back to Havant after that difficult period in the 1st half. For the next 10 mins it looked like we had the upper hand, (... and table position would have presumed something similar! ), not long after we saw Jack Phillips going over in a corner following some great footwork after a simple handling move down the line and then converting (22-12). Pressure continued to develop and it looked like Havant had finally found their groove and were about to finish Worthing off. Worthing even lost a man for pulling a maul down (63') and this was another clear flagged indication to encourage us to turn the knife and go for the kill, yet after a succession of some 4 standard approaches to the corner ready for a catch and drive, Worthing had still managed to keep us out... subsequently turning the ball over to play away up field, again the worthing back 4 were looking threatening and ready to run from anywhere on the pitch, particularly their 13. Sure enough having survived the Havant onslaught, Worthing managed to consolidate and re-established field position, finally scoring ('79) far out on the stand side. All credit to their kicker who subsequently converted against the wind bringing the game to a relative knife edge for the last remaining minutes. What followed was a nervous last few minutes of play, with Worthing largely in control of the ball - before the ref finally brought the derby excitement to a close. As ever the excitement of the day boiled over in the post-match celebrations as the players mingled, where upon the ref had to do some more blowing of his whistle!
... And with that we all looked forward to the New Year and hopefully a return of the rest of the missing senior squad. Festive Greetings & Happy New Year!
Match Storyboard:
1. Wet windy and damp but everyone seemed excited for the game..
2. Havant initiated the early scores
3. Only for Worthing to comeback into the game when we took a Yellow Card.
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4. Second half saw a rejuvenated Havant show solid attacking endeavour to establish a good lead...
5. ...Only for Worthing to recover, reconsolidate, score and make it a nervous last 5 mins.
7. While Havant said Cheerio to a Dylan Lawley and Kelton Newy
Match Image slideshow:
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First Impressions: HRFC v Dorking (L25-28)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 500
Weather: Storm Darragh Wet, Windy and Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
Dorking RFC
First impressions is simply a quick short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for those of you who couldn't get to the game, hopefully to provide a bit of match context before you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories, but these are essentially just a collection of private touchline thoughts & certainly not an official match report. #IMHO
Match images are now available at:
First Impressions
First Half: Despite the ongoing stormy conditions (Darragh) sweeping through the lane and creating difficult playing conditions, this looked like two relatively even balanced teams testing each other out in the early stages. Although on paper this was top of the table versus bottom of mid-table, to my mind Havant started well, and seemed to be offering the referee what he wanted to see and were ineffect gaining the benefits and field position accordingly. That said, perhaps while acknowledging Dorking's prowess, we potentially gave them too much respect and when presented with early penalty opportunities chose to take the easy points, instead of perhaps looking to take more early risk by developing the opportunities for bigger scores with an outline aim of grabbing control of the game. To my mind we looked strong in the scrum, and clearly had opportunities to scrummage close to their line, with a good solid purple while our 9 was in the Sin Bin, but instead of applying heavier pressure on on one of their weaknesses, we chose either to take points or to kick to the corner. While clearly not wrong, this was early in the game when the relative scoreline pressures are still diluted by the timeline available and hence missed opportunities are less impacting. Regrettably our lineout looked less robust, and as such the four excursions we developed deep into their the red zone (via hard earned midfield penalties), effectively came to nothing because we were too reliant on our lineout to deliver, and it clearly wasn't a failsafe mechanism. For me the 10 minute carding of their Hooker was possibly a marker to take the opportunity to put their scrum under more pressure - but instead we chose to play through the lineout and got nothing in return. As such we probably didn't maximise our scoring opportunities in the first half (only two penalities), while Dorking who had started relatively passively with a penalty kick, began generating play with more confidence and flow, subsequently gaining field position in our red zone and before delivering a well executed cross-field kick to their winger, who having beat our fullback to the catch, shimmied pass the cover tackles to score. To my mind Dorking were ahead, but we had probably had the better opportunities.
Halftime: HRFC 6 Dorking 11
Second Half: Havant came out firing better than they had finished the forst half, we looked to be playing on the front foot which was putting Dorking under some pressure. Our bench were now value and heavy hitters were carrying well creating good continuity and possession. Both defences remained relatively strong and coherent, and field position was largely still being generated by outcomes of the the referees whistle. A high tackle by their 5 subsequently won Dorking a yellow card, which then allowed Havant to play with a bit more space and some more possession. We quickly exploited having more bulk on the park with a bundled forwards try by Haz Young (11-11), they maintained the lead with a converted penalty, before our backs subsequently broke through in broken play - Joel eventually offloading to Ben Griffen (MoM) to slide over in the corner (18-11). The real clincher came at 69'mins, when Alfie Wainscoat was bundled over next to the posts (25-14). With less than 10 to play - To my mind we were now in control and should have been able to switch to a more defensive stance to protect our lead. Instead we allowed Dorking to generate opportunities by kicking deep and letting them run at us from deep field - it was only now that you could sense they looked dangerous in attack. With deep penetrating runs and good inter-play, they were starting to find holes in our defence. Inevitably, our structure was not fully watertight and at 77min they created a well worked try, breaking through the weak tackles to bring the score back to 25-21. Again a more resilient defensive posture would perhaps have held out against anymore attacks in the limited time available, but having relinquished possession they once again seemingly kicked up a gear to create overlaps, before subsequently beating the final 1 on 1 to score. (25-28).
Full Time: HRFC 25 Dorking 28
Match Summary:
A game we probably could/should have won - where early opportunities to seize control were overlooked because we were probably giving the opposition too much respect. The subsequent 25-14 lead should have been enough to let us close the game down and defend lead up to the final whistle, but this was a good opposition side that are leading the charge at the top of the table and they weren't going to lie down, even when playing into the wind. Their last 10 mins highlighted their ability to play at pace and to generate attacking opportunities when given time and space on the park. As ever - we would probably have taken this result without complaint earlier in the season, but having now consolidated and looked at the relative competition in this league - I sense we are not far off the pace or capability and should therefore expect to be finishing these games when having generated leads like today. As ever - if we're not winning we must be learning and we'll be better next time we meet them. #upthehill
Match Storyboard:
1. Large Captains Lunch Crowd assembled to see another #nat2e spectacle at the Lane.
2. Early exchanges seemed to fit with the Referees vision and we clearly benefitted from a number of penalties awarded enable better field position.
3. Solid Field position allowed Havant to mount a number of attacking opportunities.... but to no avail.
4. Regrettably our lineout was not the constant failsafe mechanism today, giving the opposition the ball back and allowing them to mount attacks from anywhere on the field.
5. We stayed in touch with Dorking through converted penalties, instead perhaps of looking to apply more positive pressure and seizing control of the game. Losing Ben Holt to a card didnt help our cause but was balanced by the relative loss of their Hooker to a Card in the first half.
6. Second half we looked to be firinbg better and continued to build pressure on the opposition.
7. the pressure was converted to field position and eventually generated real space, allowing us to attack and score.
8. Our Scrum looked strong almost dominant throughout the day and in my opinion was a strength we could have employed more.
9. Dorking Coaching staff looked on passively at 25-14 down ... would their team be able to claw back the difference in time?
10. Two well worked scores recovered the deficit and Dorking regained the lead to take the victory in the last 2 minutes.
11. Moral of the story: If you don't take your scoring opportunities the opposition will punish you when they get a chance! #missedopportunity
Match Image slideshow:
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Venue: Horspath Sports Complex
Crowd: Approx 150
Weather: Storm Bert: Wet, Windy and Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
Oxford Harlequins
First impressions is simply a quick short sharp back-brief of a fading memory of 'what just happened on the pitch' for those of you who couldn't get to the game, hopefully to provide a bit of match context before you peruse our images. Sadly there's No time to access match video, hence there might be some mistaken memories, but these are essentially just a collection of private touchline thoughts & certainly not an official match report. #IMHO
Match images are now available at:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p373795032
First Impressions
First Half:
1. 'Storm Bert' was setting the conditions this week and Horspath Sports complex was definitely getting no reprise! Moderate to heavy rain and a strong wind blowing diagonally across the pitch meant that it would likely be a game of two halves and whoever could control or contain the conditions might stand a chance of playing the better rugby. Those hardened weatherproofed travelling faithful were ready for a game of 'shove it up your jumper' and judging by the conditions it would be a brave team that tried something else. As such it was probably going to be very stop/start, with lots of scrums and if the kicking wasn't well controlled - there would be a fair few lineouts as well! Thankfully at Quins you are on an AGP and so the track was as we were accustomed to - firm underfoot, if a little greasy! Havant were to play against the wind in the first half and as expected were immediately put under pressure by Quins, who right from the off, looked to want to box kick us back into our own red zone and then let us make mistakes under the high ball.. and so it began! ...Well it would have but the first kick over-ran the deadball area giving a good indication to all sides just how influential the wind was going to be as we reset in the middle for a scrum.
2. As expected the first period was full of short passes and hard carries and heavy contact once the wind had been calibrated, Quins pushed us deep into our own half and tried to keep us there. From there it was a staged pattern of continuous possession with multiple runners off the 9 or 10, carrying hard into the havant defence. Consequently the first 20 mins was spent largely defending our own red zone, beating back wave after wave of Quins runners, as they looked to exploit any defensive weaknesses. In effect Quins had the measure of the early possession and consequently took advantage of having the ball, gaining field position and then battering our defence. Happily our structures held firm and we were able to meet each wave of the attacks with a good solid response, finally winning a penalty, which allowed us to clear our red zone and shift the play back up towards the halfway... but the first half atmosphere had been set and it was definitely going to be a struggle to overcome the prevailing conditions. The continuous rain was also making handling difficult and when coupled with the swirling winds, made coping with any high ball a difficult task ... more than once the ball seemed to be bouncing around in the air as attempted catches and fumbles all failed to control it.
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3. That said Havant did slowly acclimatise to the game in the first period and eventually built a series of phases that bought us deeper into the Quins half and subsequently into their Red Zone, putting the Quins defence under some pressure. Surprisingly in the difficult conditions and against the odds, we were able to make some significant gains and at 22' mins following a series of continuous possession and close quarter pressure, Cam Boa crossed the line, subsequently sliding over to secure the first score. Joel Knight lined up ready to convert kicking into the wind, but it was apparent he would need an assistant to steady the ball - with assistant in tow, the kick was duly converted. Perhaps against the flow of the game - Havant 0-7 (22'). The downwind response from Quins was immediate and direct, having planted a good restart down the pitch, they set about marshalling us back towards our own tryline again. Once again their options focussed primarily on a simple series of heavy battering runs off short passes, close to the preceeding breakdown... and it wasnt all Quins forwards, their backs routinely took their turn, all getting involved particularly the two tall rangy centres providing some very direct carries. Clearly it was route 1 rugby and the aim was to work our defence hard at the breakdowns, such that we would narrow and begin to leave space outwide. Sure enough 4 mins later our defence had narrowed and Quins scored their first try - a well developed series of phase-play that ultimately manipulated the defence, before shipping the ball wide to the right wing, who managed to get to the line. (7-7) (30')
4. It was a similar profile for the next Quins try - they played the ball into our half and then chasing their kick, put us back under pressure as we tried not to make mistakes. The dice were firmly loaded and today was obviously going to be a day of fumbles and drops - it was simply a matter of making sure the resultant scrums were in a place where you could attack from. One notable havant highlight of the first period was Ben Griffen (15), who definitely earned his keep today, demonstrating real proficiency under the regular high balls, and although some under significant pressure from the chasing Quins, seemingly maintained an air of calm confidence, linking well with his support players or indeed the clearance kicker depending on the situation. Inevitably he was going to be busy as the majority of the game was being played in the air and on the wind, and sure enough Quins pushed everything into the air eventually following a fumble, they secured a scrum in our Redzone. On 30' mins following phases off that scrum, their 10 slipped passed the defensive cover and dabbed it down for another score close to the posts. (14-7) (30'). And so the pressure continued to build as Quins reapplied the same kick and chase profile with Havant seemingly unable to be anything other than reactive to the situation. The next play ended up close to our line, where in the defensive mellee... Joel Knight was adjudged to have committed a late tackle, as we fought to regain control of the ball, subsequently he won a Yellow and 10 mins in the bin. Quins took the easy penalty. 17-7 (36'). Although a man down, happily our defensive posture remained solid and was good enough to cover the next 4 mins comfortably absorbing the pressure until the relief of half time and the subsequent change of direction.
Halftime: Oxford Quins 17 HRFC 7
Second Half:
5. As highlighted before .. this was always going to be a game of two halves, and the team that could control / contain the conditions would probably be able to play the better rugby. So we were definitely looking forward to the second half with the wind more to our backs, where we could play the ball more comfortably into the opposition half knowing just how that would impact them. Shortly after the restart, with Joel having rejoined the party from the bin, Quins themselves won a yellow card for a high shot on Ben Holt (9) - Havant could now apply a bit more pressure and consequently secured better field position to attack using a similar Route 1 posture like Quins had. That said, notwithstanding the pressure, the Oxford defence held firm and for much of the time they even retained possession, although were more limited on their attacking options other than playing through the phases and slowly getting the heavy gang to march them up the field.
6. Indeed it's probably fair to say, that Havant didnt really secure any scoring opportunities in the second half until 62', when a scrum close to Quins line provided a good solid attacking opportunity. From the scrum the backrow carried into the Quins defence, recycled and subsequently Alfie Wainscoat, who had carried hard and well all game, managed to get over on the line on the far side of the pitch. Once again joel with the support of an assistant steadying hand, slotted the conversion with relative ease and assurity. At this point Havant looked to be gaining the ascendency, although obviously still not generating our normal gameplan due to the extreme weather conditions, but they were now achieving better pressure with well developed phase play, the forwards were coping with the pressure and with the relatively easy field position gains was generating more opportunities to exploit. As the play developed, so we saw a nice linkage between 8 & 9 developing, with 9 running wide from the scrum into space before receiving the pass from Alfie at 8 - this allowed Ben more time away from the Quins backrow, while spotting the gaps and it proved to be extremely effective as he broke through the Quins defence a number of times, having found the gap to attack.
8. Having regained the initiative and with play developing nicely for Havant, another foray into the red zone allowed havant to despatch the ball to the backs (one of only a few times today) and with the Quins defence now pressing hard, rather than pass Joel Knight elected to poke a loverly grubber kick in behind them for Ben Griffen to collect, carry and score. The Conversion this time - was missed. 17-19 (73') however Havant had the lead.
9. With their Lead now gone, once Quins looked to regain possession quickly, with the touchline support urging them to regain field position, they set about attacking the gaps in the Havant defence. If one thing stood out today from the Havant POV, it was that wherever the play was, our backrow were always there or thereabouts and close enough together to be covered by the proverbial 'coaches blanket', digging out and doing the donkey work - A really strong performance and they worked tirelessly thoroughout the game to provide the solid defensive containment ..or when we were in possession, to be on hand to carry hard #superb. On 75' - Havant were awarded another penalty, whereupon joel did the honours, now stretching the lead to a 5 point margin - not safe but in this wind that was a healthy position. From that point on, it was simply a matter of containing the Quins attacks, keeping them pushed back in their own half (using the wind) and letting the clock run down. With very little stoppage time - the afternoon activities were drawn to a close and after a quick huddle the boys sought shelter!
Summary: A really key game for Havant - particularly after the disappointment last week. We obviously do need to focus on these pre-christmas games in order to consolidate a better points tally that allows us some breathing space from the bottom of the table, ready for the start of the new year. We know there will be no easy games in this league, and this was no different ...but for the most part today, we looked assured and confident of our capability and our performance was what was required on the day. We played well, against a well-drilled capable side, who on their day have clearly not been constrained by the weather and produced some good results. Clearly the weather conditions set the tone for the day, but we adapted to them and our second half performance was well measured - perhaps if Quins had kicked deeper into our half when they had the wind, we might well have had to recover from a bigger score margin.
Our performance overall was patient, measured and largely accurate, but again we suffered a yellow card near halftime, which regardless of whether we deserved it or not, is always going to be an opportunity for the opposition to exploit the space we were leaving on the park - as it was today, Quins only managed 3 points during the lean sin-bin period - but some teams in this league will definitely put us to the sword when we give them that extra space. Playing rugby without the ball is a tough ask, happily our defence fired well today - the boys were clearly up for it, they looked connected and kept the opposition under pressure. Perhaps it was actually easier to do the defending without the pressure of having to hold the ball. As previously highlighted our backrow worked tirelessly and particularly when looking at the images, they seemed to be everywhere!
A good win, and a really important away victory - we now need to make sure we can finish the year securing as many points as we can to ensure we are clear of the fracas at bottom of the table and any subsequent 'fight to the death' amongst the would-be relegation contenders doesn't impact us.
Next Job: Dorking (Hooks Lane)
PS: ...I;m off to try to dry out this camera gear!
Full Time: Oxford Quins 17 HRFC 22
Match Image slideshow:
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Match Story Board: HRFC v Henley Hawks (L28-36)
Venue: Hooks Lane
Crowd: Approx 800
Weather: Overcast / Cold / Calm
Havant Rugby Football Club
Henley Hawks
Match images are now available at:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p816796963
First Impressions
First Half:
1. On a cold winters day at the Lane, another bumper crowd bolstered by the Former Players Association, after a good solid lunch time session, greeted both teams onto the pitch. They were not disappointed - A fast start from Havant highlighted some great attacking play and eventually after concerted phase play in the red zone saw our pressure win a penalty, converted by Joel. This was followed by more of the same pace and intensity, eventually seeing Dylan Read race away to the corner to the first try of the game, the conversion was missed (8-0). Henley seemed a little stunned by the start of proceedings.
2. After 10 mins it was clear Henley were still struggling to get out of their half as Havant maintained their momentum, pressing hard and winning another penalty, Joel Knight slotting the kick, (11-0). But it was clear that Henley had clearly got some pace and power on the park, they just needed to get it into action and as the game evolved it slowly started to have an influence on the outcome.... and as the first period progressed, so Henley slowly started to generate more coherency of play, developing some nice handling interplay while looking to stretch our defences out wide. Happily our defence remained solid, but it was a definitive marker that the opposition could present a real threat that was going to need to be managed.
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3. The half continued ... but as with all games in this league, if you start to switch off or begin to relax - you will get punished, and this was no different. No sooner had we restarted after our converted penalty kick, Henley were attacking deep in our own half, applying real pressure in our Red Zone. While the defence held, it wasn't long before their increased attacking flow started to generate some real space, and our defence was being stretched. Henley finally managed to wear us down and subsequently get over for their first try (11-7).
4. As the first half progressed, so it became clear that Henley were now becoming the more dominant attacking force, our own 'go forward' posture had diminished, somewhat impacted by the loss of dylan read to injury, but it was mainly Henley kicking into gear that was the problem. They were now developing solid phase plays, recycling well and shipping the ball quickly to the edges, looking to attack any gaps we left. In a similar manner as the pressure was being applied, so we were probably guilty of succumbing to the more technical type infringements, as the ref seemed to be constantly blowing for penalties against us and marching us back into our own half - it was clear, if we had had an early Purple Patch.. well that was now over and Henley were clearly starting to get the upper hand and dominate the balance of play.
5. Almost on cue, 28' mins in, with loose play in the middle of the park, the Henley Centre collected the ball and made a nice solo break, jinking through our defence only to find he had actually run away from his own support too, ... whereupon, committed to going it alone - he did .. subsequently beating our last remaining defender to the line and scoring a nice try. While this was a quality try, I sense it was probably also helped by some less than adequate tackling when we had the chance to stop him - with the conversion, Henley took the lead (11-14) and as the score suggests, finished the first half the more dominant side.
Halftime: HRFC 11 Henley Hawks 14
Second Half:
6. While clearly still in touch with Henley at 11-14 down, after the restart Havant were soon put under some early pressure with Henley camped in our Red Zone. Good solid gritty chop tackle defence killed a number of attacks, but the Ref felt we were still infringing and following a Yellow card (Ben Holt), Henley quickly exploited the extra man and their backrow (7) crossed the line out wide. The conversion was subsequently missed (11-19). Still in touch, but now playing with a man down ... and mindful that we needed to tighten up!
7. Happily, with memories of Bury probably still fresh in our minds, the next period was largely well managed, both in attack and defence, although henley did break through requiring a good cover tackle by Jack Phillips to stop a dead cert try. The subsequent follow-on play did allow us to regain field position and after some solid exit work we won a penalty, enabling a kick to the corner before delivering a well-executed lineout, where the ensuing contest/grappling match had numerous sub-plots.. but eventually Archie Cleeve drove over for the try with some help from the posse. Joel Knight provided the extras with the conversion and we were back at a one point game 18-19. (54')
8. From the restart and somewhat reinvigorated from the successful score, we were able to collect and establish field position again, exerting more pressure on the Henley Defence, before finally winning another penalty (60') for our efforts. Again kicking to the corner, we positioned ourselves some 15m out, presumably ready for a successful lineout catch and drive but after a competed period of close-quarter phase play, we finally shifted the ball to the backs whereupon Jacob Knight put in a well-aimed cross-field kick to our very own 'Windandsurf Images' Sponsored Player (Harry Carr), who skilfully scooped up the ball while fighting his way passed his man to get over the line for the Havant try. Although out wide and on the touchline, this was then non-chantlently converted by Joel (25-19), who was striking the ball so cleanly throughout the day. The Home Crowd were now becoming noisy and had clearly started to believe we could take this game.
9. Min 68' and another Henley infringement gives us yet another kickable Penalty opportunity, with Joel Knight making no mistake from just outside the Henley 22m - extending the lead to a two score margin. (28-19). The balance of play had swung to our favour - and this lead would normally be sufficient for a team to relax a bit, but Henley were still very much in the game and alive to their chances and if anything we continued to feel under pressure. As had been demonstrated much of the afternoon, we were up against a mature side with some clever attacking talent in their backline, and not withstanding now being behind again... with the clock running away, Henley set about generating good solid phased approach work before patiently crafting a good score scoring opportunity to put their wing over in the corner - thankfully for the home crowd emotions, they missed the conversion (28-24) on 74' mins ...we still had our lead but a nail biting last few moments of play to endure.
10. At this point the flow of the game definitely seemed to switch again ...and after the restart Henley now in the ascendency, began exerting more pressure as they firmly camped inside our Red zone. Hats off to the Havant boys, who once again bravely defended every phase of attack close to the line, real gritty defence with bodies being put firmly on the line...Indeed this type of defensive set would normally have been highlighted in any post match report as the key match winning accolade, however it was obviously not be this time! Following an infringement at the 5m lineout, Havant were awarded another yellow card (Ross Parkins) and once again Henley set about exploiting our defence, attacking the line and then stretching the ball wide, inevitably giving us too much of a challenge to handle that close to the line - the Henley try was finally scored in the corner by their winger, again the conversion was missed. 28-29 (80').
Henley now had the lead, but we still had the all important Losing Bonus Point ...and the clock was passed the 80' with just some minor stoppages to play.
11. Now we've obviously been here before this season (most recently at Barnes), where the response to suddenly going behind just as the clock is counting down is totally instinctive - obviously there's a desire to get the ball back in play quickly, win the restart and play the ball into their half using attacking pace and flair to regain the lead - or at least thats the theoretical plan. Perhaps we now need to be more strategic in our tactical time management at this point - when we're under pressure to push the ball around quickly, mistakes will undoubtedly happen - in this case we did restart, they collected and box-kicked back into our half, we collected safely and responded by trying to generate an attacking situation... but our attack faltered and we ended up spilling the ball in contact, only to present an opportunity for the Henley backs to attack our dishevelled defence and the mis-match in front of them (scrambling players trying to re-establish a coherent defensive posture), and once they had got through the half-tackle of the scrambled defence, the Henley centre scooted away down the field finally linking up with their 17 year old youngster (9) who scored under the posts (28-36). The end result - regrettably a definitive League loss ...and no Losing Bonus Point.
I'm Not sure anyone really believed we ever had full control of this game at any point, even when we were leading. Although we did have some purple patches, Henley demonstrated a solid mature game plan built around their talent and skillsets, one that didn't take too many risks and one that generally only played rugby in our half, based on establishing proper field position with down-field kicking. Nothing too sexy - but clearly one that works for them! What was really clear, was the overarching inference of the penalty infringements throughout the game - clearly the referee felt the balance of infringements, in the first half, were being caused by Havant and not withstanding a good early period putting Henley under some proper pressure, we seemed to be achieving a continuous penalty count for a long while and were clearly put on the back foot by the incessant penalties. The game is obviously hard enough without putting ourselves under additional pressure and in doing this, we probably allowed the Henley to regain their footing in this game, such that they could regain momentum and finally snatch the win.
Notwithstanding the huge disappointment of losing this fixture in the last moments, this was still a really good entertaining hard fought game of competitive rugby ...against the 4th placed side in this league. They had to work hard to score a number of good quality tries today and although we were comfortably leading at one point, in all honesty, it was probably against the true flow of play. Clearly we did really well in the second half to regain the lead, and having achieved it, my sense (.. and hope) was the quality of our squad should probably have been able to survive the last 10 mins... and thereby hold-on to take a key win. For me - this is the learning point to take away. Sadly we weren't able to choke the game, once we had got two scores ahead, instead we allowed Henley to come back at us generating some significant pressure, and eventually score the winning try on full time to steal the game - the subsequent loss of the losing bonus point, is as discussed earlier, was probably more to do with our own instinctive 'kneejerk' playing reaction to the sudden loss, where the tactical decision making might not fully align with the strategic requirement (ie maintaining league table position) - all that stuff about scoreline/ timeline and Risk and when to play expansive rugby and when to keep it tight and to accept the scoreline and protect your bonus point - we might want to review this area, as I sense these bonus points will become so important further down the line, when everyone is subsequently fighting for their points.
... But with ALL that said.. IMHO.. we are definitely moving in the right direction and while obviously we still have some rough edges to sort out, we have consolidated sufficiently at this level such that we are now generating a solid competitive output against the strongest opposition on a weekly basis - all from within our existing extended senior squad. This is a huge achievement to make this step, and the real test will be whether we can do it sustainably across the whole length of the season. Never before has the need for a strong 'Dolphins' outfit been more important - I sense the challenge might now be to maintain and maximise player availability as we move towards the crucial and more crunchy 'downhill' phase of the season (in both leagues! ) -The future's still rosy and Christmas is coming up quick - but we need to Stay fit! Next Job: Oxford Harlequins (A) #upthehill
Full Time: HRFC 28 Henley Hawks 36
Match Image slideshow:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p816796963
Match Story Board: Bury St Edmunds v HRFC (W49-53)
Venue: The Haberden, Southgate Sports Ground
Crowd: Approx 500
Weather: Overcast / Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
Bury St Edmund RFC
Match images are now available at:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p673073150
First Impressions
First Half:
1. An evenly balanced start with both sides probing the defences, Havant initiated the scoring with a converted catch and drive) but both sides looked fairly well matched and it seemed like the afternoon would be a 'nip and tuck' type affair, with no significant dominance apparent other than perhaps some real quality highlighted in the Bury backs early on, demonstrating their clever ball skills around the park (0-7).
2. Both sides maintained relative parity (3-7) until a subsequent Yellow Card at 17' broke the equality (Ben Holt - not 10 yards after another penalty) and completely shifted the match balance, allowing Bury to begin exposing/exploiting the gaps in our defence, effectively isolating the defensive edge, and then stretching us well beyond our capacity / attacking with relative ease (10-7).
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3. With only limited possession... and now a man down, Havant struggled to generate any meaningful 'Go Forward' ball. Meanwhile Bury kicked up into another gear and we were clearly struggling to handle them - very quickly it started to look like it was going to be a very long afternoon as the opposition scoring opportunities began to mount up. The worried Havant faces around the ground were clearly beginning to wonder just how bad this might become, as the Bury Backs kicked into life, opening up holes to create opportunities and seemingly scoring with relative ease - within 20 mins a sizeable scoreline was already on the board (36-7).
4. Finally there was a shift in our luck(?) - Bury got a Yellow card for a High shot and with less of them on the park and a bit of extra space, Havant could start to regain some composure before generating some meaningful Phase play. In time regaining field position and ultimately finishing off a scoring opportunity out wide with a driving maul (Steve Jenkinson) (36-12) - notwithstanding our reply, Bury still finished the half in the ascendency putting a penalty over to keep the pressure on (39-12).
Halftime: Bury St Edmunds 39 HRFC 12
Second Half:
5. All change! After a bit of blunt 'Changing room direction' to help refocus the minds, Fresh legs were brought on and Havant came out early for the next half complete with a new Frontrow, including the return of Sean Shephard. This game had 'obviously' already got away from us - but this was now a game of damage control and was going to need a complete mental reset (back to basics) and a more proactive response to handling Bury, while trying to keep the score to a respectable level.
The Second half got underway and the early initial bury attacks looked like they had started where they had left off ..and it was going to be 'more of the same' for the next 40 mins.... happily from a Havant perspective, things appeared to be different, even the floodlights seemed brighter - our defence remained solid, we were more resilient at the breakdown, we were competing 50/50 balls and indeed even able to recover the ball, and by applying the basics we subsequently developed field position, eventually sliding into a more normal rhythm that would allow us to play our game.
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6. Now seemingly playing with more intensity and pace... and some confidence (..there was obviously nothing to lose!), Havant were generating a much quicker speed of recycle ball and Bury seemed to be struggling to establish their normal steady defensive set. We looked to be holding onto possession better and our offload inter-play was beginning to make real impact. Not withstanding the disproportionate scoreline - this definitely looked better...maybe there was a credible chance of generating some scoring opportunities ...and possibly (just a hope!) getting a bonus point for our (now improved) efforts. Finally after some concerted pressure, Havant got to the line and scored a well earned try (Ross Parkin) with Joel K converting (39-19). Obviously still no parity, but just nice for the travelling support to see that the game wasn't all one sided!
7. Once Play restarted, we came again - rebuilding our field position and establishing good solid phase play to manipulate the defence. After a short while, we had generated enough space on the edge for Dylan Read to collect the wide pass and sprint over. Believe it or not, that was the 4 Try Bonus Point in the bag! (39-24). Bury were looking a little shell-shocked that we hadn't died away ...and you could see our lads were just starting to believe in themselves. Buryβs Restart and again our reconstituted basics allowed us to build proficiently creating space outside allowing Jack Phillips to go over in the corner. The losing bonus point was now a credible 'possibility' (39-29) and it was clear our bench were having a significant impact - the frontrow carrying well, while the likes of Jamo was able to run hard at the opposition and punching 'Tuilangii' sized holes in the now unsettled Bury defence.
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8. Notwithstanding our resurgence ...the game was obviously not all one way traffic - and BSE backs were still posing a significant threat whenever they collected our loose kicks - Bury maintained pressure wherever they could slotting a penalty when given the chance (42-29). With memories of the first half Rout were still foremost in our minds, we continued to carefully build steady pressure before Bury collected another Yellow Card for a High Shot - and once again the relative balance of attack shifted to Havant's favour, such that we were able to get another try but not the conversion (42-34) ... still not at the losing bonus point yet.
The game continued with the BSE backs threatening any loose ball in broken play and sadly we still hadnβt cured our defensive edge, giving them a way through to score a well-earned try in the bottom corner. At this point the BSE crowd looked to settle back into the relative comfort that their 'Bury Boys' were back in control as their fly Half slots a great conversion (49-34)
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9. At this point fatigue and scoreline reality normally kicks in ....but it seemed none of the travellers were lying down and there was still plenty of Havant Dog left yet. Patient phase play, quick recycling and we generated another well worked try in the far corner - still rebuilding our hopes for that losing bonus point (49-41). Another card and the balance shifts in havantβs favour whereupon we work the ball towards the corner, and get another score. This is better - the Losing Bonus Point is now definitely an option (49-46), the Bury players are querying the scoreline and becoming unsettled, noting that Havant are now in with a chance of the losing bonus point. We miss the conversion - but Bury know the momentum is firmly back with us.
10. ...My sense is most Havant supporters would have been cheering the miraculous recovery to secure 2 bonus points away from home ...and would have probably in all honesty have left this end of darkest Suffolk content that it had not been a wasted journey....But it would appear the lads hadnβt read the script. Another restart, more possession and patient phase play and then another Bury Yellow on the 80', offered a penalty in their 22 out wide. Game on! Having already secured 2 bonus points and clearly riding on a wave of game momentum - we now had more players in-hand on the pitch... and the clock was running down - we go to the corner for the win with a catch and drive! #brave #credibledecision
Bury looked stunned - whereupon we simply had to execute a flawless lineout (in hindsight, a somewhat brave call, considering our lineout had been a bit 'hit and miss' most of the afternoon!) and conduct a standard 'catch and drive' towards the line - but in this case Bury countered well, fighting hard to defend their win and there really was nothing doing - so the ball is recycled into the backs - letting our heavy gang reposition themselves ready to carry on the next phases. Sure enough our midfield carry well into defensive traffic, retain possession and set up the next breakdown, and after a number of pre-cursor carries, Luka Shplka collects and heads over the line with a little help from his friends, to put the icing on the cake! The final conversion goes over W49-53 and the clock is dead and that's a 5 point league win. #whowouldvethought
Definitely a game of two Halves and 5 well-earned league points - not a bad return for such a long drive up here #upthehill #fullspectrumofemotions #BZ
Read the official club match report for all the detail.
Full Time: Bury 49 HRFC 53
Extras:
Not sure anyone really knows what happened here - Its obvious that Rugby at this level is now dominated by process and procedure, and consequently the subsequent loss of a player can have a significant disruptive action on those finely tuned processes. The subsequent loss of Ben Holt (yellow) clearly impacted our coherence and effectively helped open the door for BSE to exploit, quickly putting 4 tries over in a 15 min period - similar to how Guernsey raiders had punished our mistakes earlier this season. In a similar manner, our second half change in intensity and pace coupled with their subsequent loss of players to cards, had a similar effect on their processes, mainly their defensive ability to counter our attacks - that said even when they were men down, their backs remained a very credible threat who could exploit any loose ball from anywhere on the park - probably the best set we have seen to date on today's showing.
As we keep reminding ourselves, there are no easy games at this level and based on the first half performance - we would probably have been happy to just take away a single bonus point today, as the second half regain and build in confidence was something we just weren't expecting! It was great to witness and great for the team - as the match progressed, so too did the team belief and confidence across the 20 man squad. Everyone was playing their part, there were no exceptions - and looking at the mountain they have just climbed to take this victory - this won't have gone unnoticed across the league! 102 points in any game is odd... but even more so when you consider it was a 'fight back' from a standing start at 39-12 at HT.
Not counting any chickens just yet! - While obviously there's some significant work to be done to resolve / prevent the 'initial meltdown' that got us into this position - based on the quality of this fight back, the muscle memory now built into this team and the confidence generated across the squad to be able to compete at this level - my sense is the coaching team will be happy (as much as they can be) that we are now much better acclimatised to this level of competition and should expect a good solid competitive run-up (league points accumulation) to consolidate a mid-table position by Christmas. #upthehill
Match Image slideshow:
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p673073150
Next Job: Henley (Hooks Lane)
https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p499983565 πΈ
Match Story Board: HRFC v Old Albanian (W37-29)
Match Image slideshow:
Touchline Opinion:
- Always billed as a pivotal fixture and a key result, OA now firmly situated in the core mid-table group above us will consequently feature in our targeted 'must win/ must secure points' fixtures. Today's 5pt win will have been a good tonic for the coaches, who probably ..after lots of relative platitudes and sage advice from 'the great and the good' about how we were doing in the first phase of the season, have effectively seen their team deliver a good solid standard of rugby against solid opposition, only to trip-up in small functional areas and then be severely punished. One thing for certain - playing rugby at this level can be ruthless! π³
- Going into this fixture with a record of 2W/5L does not really highlight how this team have been performing (most havant games have been against the top of the table types), but is probably more an indication that our total match performance, at this level, is still in development and we haven't yet acquired all the necessary skillsets to shut a game down when in control. The need to play the percentage game is never more real, and unlike the relative looser freedoms of last season, we probably now have to be more conservative in our game-play and manage the timeline/ scoreline risks better.
- Worth having a look at Adam King's Senior Round-up on Fb for the detail, but in my humble my opinion - although we generated a good solid first half output, HT 19-10, the two sideβs abilities were probably never very far apart and even though our ability to further extend the lead in the early second half period appeared to indicate that we were starting to get the measure of them (29-10), it didn't last! When OA suddenly woke up and delivered 3 tries on the bounce in a 15min period, it was pretty clear that we hadn't really worked out how to contain them ... in fact the speed of change was a shock and somewhat silenced our home crowd as we arrived at 29-29 (shades of 'Shock and Awe') with 10 mins to play β¦
- ...happily, and not withstanding the OA resurgent effort, our resilience didn't desert us and having survived the onslaught we were able to patiently re-generate field position and threaten their line again; the very prominent Jack Phillips subsequently pouncing on a loose ball after a structured attack to nab an important nerve-settling try to re-establish the lead, (34-29) followed by a quick Captain's penalty to make it a two score finish (FT37-29) and deny the opposition a losing bonus point.. and with that, the afternoon entertainment was complete!
Midfield Defence was being tested right from the off. |
Set Piece functioned well and delivered good 1st phase possession |
Strong carries featured throughout
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Airborne Defence
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- ** Special mention to the OA Fullback (Alex Noot 15) for his solo try effort from 70m out, running through approx 4 or even 5(?) havant tackle opportunities was quite something to watch, both with his footwork, change of direction and pace, backed up by sheer bloody mindedness to get through the havant defensive traffic and get it over the line. Superb to watch! (Obvs not superb for us! π) #hatsofftoyou π**
Applause for the Home Crowd Support
- A 'Win's a Win', and this one secured a much needed league 5pts - the coaches should be rightly proud of their squad's performance this week; while there's not much change on the table, this was undoubtedly a highly competitive fixture and required a mature team performance to secure the win and maximise the points - we are clearly going to need more of the same next month, with plenty of similar mid-table, closely balanced games ahead of us. #stillnoeasygames! While no doubt quietly celebrating, I'm pretty certain our analysts will also soon be hard at work reviewing the video to identify our definitive weaknesses and understand the associated symptoms, such that we can shore up our fragilities ready for the next league phase and our bid to consolidate in the mid-table area.
- Next job will obviously be restoring the squad's fitness/ regrouping / maybe rethinking some of the tactical approaches and game planning and then getting ready to go again for the next round of important league fixtures in Nov. (Bury/ Henley/ Oxford Quins) #upthehill
HRFC Most Capped Player - Steve Cruddas handing over his mantle to Joel Knight
Next Job: Bury St Edmunds
Havant Rugby Football Club
Old Albanian RFC
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https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p579611231 πΈ
Match Storyboard:
Touchline Opinion
- Barnes v HRFC (L33-21) ππ As highlighted in Adam King's regular Senior Round-up, this was another competitive game, against a strong well-drilled side, where the emotional heartache of competitive league rugby was well and truly played out.. and we probably only lost in the dying moments.
- A solid first half had us in the lead, but it was clear after the break that Barnes had another gear to go to, quickly regaining the lead by turning up the pressure. Happily we didn't capitulate, we simply adjusted, regaining parity with two good long shot penalties,
- Clearly we weren't out of the woods, as the well drilled Barnes scored again and with only limited time left to play, we needed a pretty direct response to regain. Building towards the corner we applied significant pressure, they got a card, and we delivered a well-executed 'catch and drive' to secure a converted try (19-21)... and for most of the 'Hampshire Ramblers' enjoying the London Autumnal sun - that would have been enough to call it a day! ππ...
- Sadly the clock didn't stop, the game continued and we subsequently couldn't protect our own field position and were forced deep, subsequently having to take a try line drop-out which allowed Barnes to collect and apply real pressure in our Red Zone. They're a good side, obviously one that came second in this league last year, and they know how to take their chances - which they did well, satisfying the ref that their driving maul (apparently pulled down by us) was close enough to be awarded a penalty try.
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- So now at L26-21 and the clock on its last few dying moments, we could have come away with a losing BP ... but in the rush for a quick restart, knowing time was about to die, our mindset was probably still pressing hard for that win we had just lost control of ... and sadly an inevitable loose wide pass, an easy interception and the damage was made worse - FT33-21 and no BP. π
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- A great shame after what looked like a good solid managed performance that had evolved to cope with the threat handling a strong side, and indeed was good enough to take a hard fought win. Maybe no win this time, but the analysis will show lots of positives with minimal shortfalls - we are still only talking fine margins, as this was yet another fixture that really could have gone a different way. Still early in the season, but the focus is clearly to start converting these limited opportunities into winning points ...and if we can't win, we need to secure the BP on offer. #IMHO #upthehill
Havant Rugby Football Club
Barnes Rugby Club
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Match slideshow available below:
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stepping back in time - https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/p243022854.
Slightly musty, dimly lit and just the remnants of last nights sweaty training session hanging in the air amongst the dust - this was definitely a step back in time, to a period when we had a wealth of British boxing legends. From the graffiti on the walls to the legacy posters and advertisement hoardings, when the Kray Twins headed the bill all the way through to the British champions of the 70s and 80s, there really was no doubting the quality and prestige of combatant sport that went on in this old converted bath house. Its certainly not a museum but a proper working gym - fantastic venue.
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This was a more interesting one...
Standard Easyjet trip out to South of France. All the delights of a Tour party abroad! #sailorsandmarines
The training Ground just outside the Dockyard with our accommodation. No complaints.
Big day arrives - and we're at the Toulon stadium having completed all our preps - there is an expectant atmosphere. As ever the dockyard siren blasts at the end of the working day and the French Navy stop work and march expectantly down to the stadium to cheer on their team. They've been told this is 'Le Crunch' - This is their Army Navy - and they expect Le Battle of Trafalgar! Needless to say - we understand the challenge, the history, the atmosphere that can be generated in this cauldron and the limitations of playing away - but the boys are up for the challenge. Why wouldn't they be?
Nice professional changing rooms and all the normal accoutrements prior to 'Le Crunch'. No French funnies yet .. but there's bound to be a few.
The pre-match Formalities - RN 1SL and his counter part exchange niceties and entente cordiale ...anthems and handshakes and a quiet muttering of 'think we should just let the ref handle the rest!' ....et voila! The standard Toulon Rallying call - Pelou Pelou from the tattooed man and we're off.
France v Britain - a few French funnies at the start, offsides everywhere, high tackles and a blind ref, finally some control. The RN rock this professional scrum unit to their core - so much so the ref has to find a reason to reset it quickly... The Perpignon frontrow not happy with foreheads knocking, a bit of Cornish afters just to add to their disgruntlement and the ref looses control.. and we've got an international shindig! Pas Bon! The Scrums are going 'toe to toe' with lots of close quarter action while the extras are coming from flying backs. The RN lads stood their ground and gave no quarter - purely responding to the opposition antics. The French crowd are baying for blood - why wouldn't they!
A few hasty directives from the naval seniors as the melee overspills from the playing field and eventually after a long while the ref regains some control. His subsequent red card to their loose head (the one not starting in the European Championship game that weekend) and our Tight head - was probably about 180 degrees out from where all the real action started - but heyho when in France! The French Half time chats suddenly had a senior Naval presence providing the Hearts and Minds, while we left it to the TSG knowing full well that this was part of our pre-match analysis, as was the refs sudden blindness - but the game continued in the feisty manner and although we offered a lot more attacking play, we were always on the backfoot and unable to regain control without our dominant scrum against their tight unit... and so they win - As they say in France - 'that's life!'
So not the result we wanted, certainly not the kind of game required for our IS build-up ... but quite a memorable game for your first Cap in an RN shirt and certainly one to tell the grand kids. Ohh la la! #onwards #IS16build-up