Harlow 24 Enfield Ignations 10 

London League Division Two North East

8th January 2011

Harlow made a great start to 2011 with a convincing league win over Enfield Ignatians on Saturday. The deciding factor or was that the visitors found themselves facing a side that really wanted to win. Harlow defensive play he was some of the best they have produced all season both in terms of tackling in open play and in contesting the ball in the rucks and mauls. Accurate place kicking by Dobson punished Enfield infringements and built up an useful margin which Harlow were able to defend in a fiercely contested final quarter.

Enfield who had a heavy pack started strongly and in the opening minutes took two penalty shots at goal but neither of them carried. The second one however allowed them to establish themselves if in the Harlow 22 from where a good kick to the corner was followed by a well constructed rolling maul from which they went over for their first try and a five if nil lead. From the restart Harlow applied much more pressure taking play into the visitors half. Two good breaks by Dobson put pressure on the defence before Harlow moved the ball wide and a long pass from Powell released Grimley on the wing. He had the pace to cut round the two remaining defenders for a try in the corner. Dobson was on target with the conversion from out wide and Harlow were in the lead seven points to five. For most of the first half it remained a cut and thrust contest midfield but with Harlow more willing to release the ball to their backs while the visitors seem to rely more on their weight to upfront. About 10 minutes before half-time Harlow extended their lead with a penalty from Dobson then, with only minutes left in the half, Enfield counter attacked, again by using the rolling maul from which they got the ball away to touch down for an unconverted try making the score 10 points each at the turnaround.

With the slope in their favour Enfield made more use of kicks for position and for much of the first quarter Harlow were forced to defend. It was in this period committed Harlow tackling played such an important part. When Enfield infringed midfield Harlow skipper Romaine called up Dobson who slotted the kick for a three point lead. A few minutes later a second breach of discipline by Enfield allowed him to add another three points. Enfield came back very strongly indeed if and from a kick to the corner setup a rolling maul within the Harlow five metre line the maul went down giving them the chance to attack again from the five metre scrum. They drove for the line were just held out by a Harlow but were awarded another five metre scrum. The forward battle within a couple of paces of the Harlow try line continued for over 10 minutes, twice Enfield managed to drive over the try line and twice by Eynon the Harlow No.8 beat his opposite number to ground the ball although both times the outcome was another five metre scrum rather than a 22 drop-out. Finally Harlow managed to steal the ball and a kick upfield to find touch. Although both packs were exhausted from the contest the effect of so much close possession without a score seemed to weaken the Enfield resolve. A further Dobson penalty taking the score to 19 points to 10 in favour of Harlow started to indicate the win was possible. Still hoping for a win and with the importance of bonus points Enfield again attacked strongly setting up possession deep in the Harlow 22. A desperate attempt to get the ball out to their wing allowed Harlow’s Chris Webb to intercept the pass and start a frantic sixty metre dash for the try line. He just managed to the outpace the final chasing defender and touch down in the corner for Harlow second try. The conversion was just short and the game ended with Harlow 24 points to 10 ahead.

Next Saturday Harlow are away to fifth placed Canvey Island in what will be a much more demanding contest. Another league win would require exceptional efforts but whatever the outcome the key issue is whether Harlow can maintain the commitment they showed last Saturday.

Harlow received a further boost on Saturday when their seconds beat Chelmsford by 25 points to 20 in division one of the Essex merit table. They came back in the second half having been trailing by 20 points to 4 at the turn around. With an unbroken sequence of nine league matches as a result of the recent bad weather a strong second team is going to be critical for Harlow’s league campaign.

Tries: William Grimley, Christopher Webb

Conversions:  Michael Dobson

Penalties: Michael Dobson (3)

Team List

1 -  Danniel Lane

2 -  Scott Romaine

3 -  Paul Johnson (Sub James Lewis 70mins)

4 -  Marc Barr

5 -  Kerry Palmer

6 -  Mark Bowering

7 -  Kain Claridge

8 -  Paul Eynon

9 -  Charles Worthington

10 - Michael Dobson

11 - Christopher Webb
12 - Rhys Powell
13 - Luke Bowering

14 - William Grimley (Sub Christopher Bates 50mins)

15 - Robert Mackie

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