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Harlow 31 Norwich 5
London Three North East
To read the Norwich version - click here Harlow adapted brilliantly to appalling weather to pull off a great win on Saturday. Heavy rain had left the pitch very wet with several areas of standing water and it was only the efforts of a group of a dozen volunteers who spent all morning forking the surface and spreading 2 tons of sand that made it playable. The players responded and despite the driving rain and mud which made handling and running rugby difficult produced an exciting and entertaining match. With all the players giving so much it is hard to single anyone out but credit must go the skipper Nick Ford who slotted five kicks from five attempts on in conditions when one would have forgiven any kicker for missing. He added to this with some very accurate touch kicking which kept the pressure on the visitors. From the start Harlow went onto the attack and it quickly became clear that their pack was going to cause the visitors problems. One attempt at a rolling maul failed but on 6 minutes Ford put a penalty into touch in the corner. Snow took cleanly at the lineout and another rolling maul saw five Harlow forwards brush the defence aside to drive over and tight head prop Paul Prindiville got the touchdown and Ford converted from out wide to make it 7 – 0 to Harlow. The next ten minutes saw play midfield and Norwich making one or two attacks into Harlow territory and then at about 20 minutes the ball went loose in the Harlow 22 and winger Will Grimley picked up the ball one handed from the mud and made a 80 yard solo run for the line out pacing their very quick wingers to made the try line. Again Ford converted for 1 14 – 0 lead. About 8 minutes later Harlow had another chance when awarded a penalty 20 yards out. Harron took the quick tap and was taken out by the Norwich loose head who was way offside. The prop was yellow carded and from the penalty Harlow went for the lineout and mauled their way over for their third try again with Prindiville making the touch down. Ford again converted. On the minute of half time Harlow were awarded another penalty in field but some way out. With no time for further moves Ford went for the posts and made it 24 – 0 at half time.It had been raining for most of the match and in the second half play became more and more difficult. Norwich adapted their defensive strategy and were able to hold the Harlow forwards much more effectively. Harlow attempted to use their backs moving the ball wide but with a wet mud covered ball and a very slippery surface most moves broke down. Good use of the boot kept Norwich in their own half for long periods and coach Matt Davies committed his replacement in the hope that being fresh they would provide the edge. Stradling has always been good at holding up the ball in the tackle and on several occasions took on the opposition centres allowing Harlow to get over the gain line. The revised front row combination using Wilkins and Lane caused difficulty for the visitors in the set pieces. Norwich had made things difficult for themselves by conceding too many penalties and midway through the half a yellow card for their outside centre made the problem worse. Just before he was due back on a Norwich lineout deep in their 22 saw the ball go loose. Harlow lock Paul Eynon barged through the line and scooped up the ball for the try close to the corner. Ford slotted his most difficult kick of the game to make it 31 – 0 with ten minutes to go, To their credit Norwich kept up the pressure right to the end and in the closing minutes were rewarded with a try in the corner making it 31 – 5 at the final whistle.This keeps Harlow in third place in the league although their chance of finishing in the top two diminished when second place Diss beat league leaders Westcliff. This puts Diss three points ahead of Harlow and with a game against Norwich in hand which on Saturday’s form they should win. Next Saturday Harlow are away to bottom of table Colchester, a game which on paper they should win. It will take commitment however to play to their strengths and not to allow Colchester to control the flow of play. Tries: Paul Prindiville (2), Will Grimley, Paul Eynon Conversions: Nick Ford (4) Penalties: Nick Ford
1. - Gary Brown 2. - Scott Romaine 3. - Paul Prindiville (Sub 60 mins Danny Lane ) 4. - Jon Snow 5. - Paul Eynon 6. - Hans Barnard 7. - Michael Weston (Sub 65 mins Stuart Wilkins) 8. - Kain Claridge 9. - Lee Harron 10. - Nick Ford 11. - Will Grimley 12. - Josh Bohl 13. - James McFerran (Sub 55 mins David Stradling) 14. - Simon Vanbeck 15. - Sean Banks To view more match reports - click here
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Click to enlarge Picture Courtesy of Harlow Star
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Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen Click to enlarge
Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen Click to enlarge Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen
Click to enlarge Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen
Click to enlarge Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen
Click to enlarge Picture Courtesy of Harlow Citizen
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