Harlow 25 Saffron Walden 19
London Three North East
Harlow clinched an important win on Saturday,
reversing their defeat in the away leg against Saffron Walden in November.
The visitors had a good squad who looked very dangerous on the breakout and
as in the previous game stole an early lead. On this occasion however Harlow
hit back very quickly and despite playing uphill finished the first half in
the lead.
From the start play was mostly midfield as the two sides tested one another.
A penalty only just in the Harlow half and out wide allowed the visitors to
take an early lead. Harlow countered well through their pack and played the
next few minutes in the Saffron Walden 22 before a long kick downfield put
them on the defensive. A good break by Saffron Walden allowed their fullback
to come into the line and they ran in a try in the corner. Their fly half
slipped in the wet surface taking the conversion and let Harlow off with an
8 point deficit. Harlow responded well and a good drive by their forwards
saw Claridge make the line only seconds after the referee had decided the
ball was trapped and had blown for a scrum. Harlow kept up the pressure and
eventually it was a wide miss pass which set up Sean Banks on the wing where
he did well to hold up in the tackle and touch down in the corner. Harlow
conceded another penalty for not releasing the ball and Saffron Walden
extended the lead to 11- 5. The counter came when the Rams’ pack set up a
maul a good 10 yards out and worked their way towards the line. Good ball
control and subtle changes of direction got them close before prop Paul
Prindiville bounced a defender to go over for the try, closing it to 10 – 11
to the visitors. The cut and thrust continued and Saffron Walden added a
forwards try of their own when their No. 5 powered his way over. In the
closing few minutes Harlow fought desperately to keep in the game and had
good attacks by both Banks and by Vanbeck on the other wing. Finally it was
Ben Jarvis at outside centre who exploited the smallest of gaps in the
defence to slip through for the best try of the match. Ford was on target
with the conversion and Harlow were in front at the turnaround 17 – 16.
Although Saffron Walden still posed a threat the slope gave Harlow a more
competitive edge. More of the play was in the visitors half and it was only
determined defence which kept the margin to one point. Paul Eynon came on as
a replacement for Claridge who had been carrying an injury sustained in the
first half and was quickly in the action linking with Harron on the No. 8
pick up from the scrum. On two occasions the pack drove at the line but just
could not break through and on 60 minutes given a longish penalty in
midfield Ford went for the posts and extended the lead to 20 – 16.
A good breakout saw Saffron Walden with a two on one attack on the wing but
Vanbeck read it well and took out the ball carrier. Another penalty saw the
gap cut to 20 -19 and Harlow were again under pressure. Minutes later
McFerran came on for Bohl and Grimley for Vanbeck. It was Grimley who broke
the stalemate taking a long pass near the 22 and beating two defenders with
sheer pace to touch down in the corner making it 25 – 19. In the closing
minutes he came close again when Eynon made a great break ball in hand and
his inside pass to the winger was just blocked. Saffron Walden had one more
attacking chance but conceded a penalty and an extra 10 yards for dissent
allowing Harlow to clear and hold out for an important win.
Rochford lost to league leaders Westcliff so Harlow now go third in the
league. It is a big challenge but they are at least still in the hunt for a
play off place if they can move ahead of Diss. It means however no more
defeats. They resume their campaign away to Chelmsford on the 5th January.
Tries:
Sean Banks,
Ben Jarvis,
Paul
Prindiville,
Will Grimley
Conversions:
Nick Ford
Penalties:
Nick Ford
1. -
Paul
Prindiville
2. -
Stuart Wilkins
3. -
Gary Brown
4. -
Jon Snow
5. -
James Ephgrave
6. -
Scott Romaine
7. -
Wayne Morgan
8. -
Kain Claridge (Sub
Paul Eynon
45 minutes)
9. -
Lee Harron
10. -
Nick Ford
11. -
Sean Banks
12. -
Billy Stanley
13. -
Ben Jarvis
14. -
Simon Vanbeck (Sub
Will Grimley
55 minutes)
15. -
Josh Bohl
(Sub
James McFerran
60 minutes)
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