Ipswich 43 Harlow 5

London League Division Two North East

13th February 2010

Harlow knew that they would face a tough challenge at Ipswich on Saturday. They had several key players missing, others only just recovering from injury and several playing out of position. Like Harlow, Ipswich have improved considerably in their recent games recording three good wins. To some extent Harlow allowed them to create a bigger winning margin than is reflected by the true strength of the two sides. This was largely as a result of continuing to try to play open rugby when it was clear that the home side had a speed and skill advantage in their backs. There were periods when by slowing the game down in keeping the ball tight within the pack Harlow were able to keep the contest on a more even footing. When the ball went wide however Ipswich backs gave them a real advantage.

From the kick off Harlow took good possession and applied pressure in the Ipswich half, only to concede a penalty which allowed them to clear their lines. Within the first five minutes a good break on their right wing allowed Ipswich in to take the lead with a converted try. A few minutes later they were on the attack again and this time put a kick upfield for their backs to chase. A handling mistake by Harlow meant that they were unable to clear the ball and Ipswich touched down under the posts making an easy conversion and a 14 point lead. From the restart Harlow took play deep into the Ipswich 22 and for several minutes kept them under pressure by use of the rolling maul. When Harlow were awarded a scrum about 10 metre short of the try line No.8 Kain Claridge picked up cleanly and made a short break before passing inside to Charlie Woodington. The Harlow scrum half took the ball at pace and sprinted through to touch down for the try. Despite the difficult angle McFerran came close with the conversion, hitting the far post but unfortunately the ball bounced out. For the next 10 minutes Harlow kept up the pressure on Ipswich by continuing to make good use of their pack. Once again however they allowed Ipswich to clear their lines by conceding another penalty. In the final 10 minutes of the first half Ipswich had much more of the play, running in another try from their backs and then forcing Harlow to defend strongly. They went into the interval with a 19 points to 5 lead.

Almost immediately from the kick off Ipswich were back on the attack and outpaced the Harlow defence to add another converted try. Five minutes later Harlow almost broke clear when McFerran kicked up field and supported by Hockley chase down into the Ipswich half. Ipswich however managed to cover and in the skirmish that followed Hockley was yellow carded. On 50 minutes another breakout by Ipswich added to their score when one of their lock forwards powered over for the try which was easily converted by their number 10. At this point McFerran who had been carrying a shoulder injury for some time was substituted by O’Brien. For the next 20 minutes Harlow kept the game much tighter and conceded no further score was but then with 11 minutes to go the Ipswich backs made a good break up field allowing their Winger to take the pass on the halfway line and sprint 50 yards for the try, taking the score to 36 points to five. In the closing 2 minutes to the game Harlow were awarded a penalty inside the Ipswich half, took to kick quickly and attempted to run the ball. Unfortunately a long miss pass was intercepted and in the final move the game the home side ran in another try and conversion to finish with a 43 points to 5 victory.

This weekend Harlow are at home to bottom of the table Mersea Island. If they can take the points in this match then they will maintain a respectable gap between themselves and the bottom three clubs. This is particularly important because after Saturday all their remaining fixtures are against clubs in the top half of the table. Player availability and recovery from injury will be a key factor.

Tries: Charlie Woodington

Conversions:  

Penalties:

Team List

1 -  Paul Prindiville

2 -  Scott Romaine (Captain)
3 -  Matt Branch

4 -  Kerry Palmer (Sub 60 mins Terry Blackwell )

5 -  Paul Eynon  

6 -  Shaun Roberts (Sub 65 mins Danny Lane )
7 -  Mark Bowering

8 -  Kain Claridge

9 -  Charlie Woodington
10 - Lee Harron

11 - Dan Hockley
12 - James McFerran (Sub 40 mins Seamus O'Brien )
13 - Luke Bowering

14 - Will Grimley

15 - Frances Brown

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