RFU National 2 East - Oxford Harlequins v HRFC (W17-22)
&layout=none&ref=https://windandsurfimages.zenfolio.com/blog/2024/11/rfu-national-2-east---oxford-harlequins-v-hrfc-w17-22)
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 Story Board: Oxford Quins v HRFC(17-22)
Venue: Horspath Sports Complex
Crowd: Approx 150
Weather: Storm Bert: Wet, Windy and Cold
Havant Rugby Football Club
Oxford Harlequins
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.
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:
Comments
Photo Blog highlighting some of the more recent Windandsurf Images activity -
....because we're not always on a beach!
