Harlow 36 Sudbury 5 

London League Division Two North East

23 October 2010

Until last Saturday it had been a depressing season for both players and spectators at Harlow, but in their match against Sudbury last weekend they finally produced the quality rugby which the coaching team had always known was possible. And what is more they hit the visitors Sudbury really hard from the first whistle; the final score included six well constructed tries and they scored four of them if in the first 20 minutes without loss.

Right from the kick off Harlow were on to the attack and within 3 minutes Dobson put in a difficult floating kick right down into the corner where winger Chris Webb, following up hard, took the ball cleanly. His path to the line was blocked by the Sudbury winger but he offloaded to the Harlow fullback Rob Mackie who touched down in the corner. The conversion was just wide but Harlow had a 5 point lead. From the restart Harlow were rapidly back into the attack taking play down into the Sudbury 22. In the eighth minutes a forward drive by Harlow took play towards the line. From the tackle they attacked again and this time Scott Romaine peeled off and powered his way over for the second Harlow try. Dobson was on target with the conversion to give Harlow a 12 point lead. The third Harlow try came initially as a result of a clearance kick by Sudbury being charged down midfield. Harlow quickly recycled the ball and launched their backs moving the ball wide to Vanbeck on the left wing. He sprinted for the corner and was challenged by the Sudbury winger but was too strong for him and made the line for the touch-down. The conversion missed but Harlow now had a 17 point lead. At the end of the first quarter another good attacking move by Harlow backs saw Rob Mackie come into the line to touch down close to the posts allowing Dobson a safe conversion and 24. Lead. For the remainder of the half although Harlow kept up the pressure Sudbury regrouped and for the first time in the match Harlow found themselves having to defend deep into their own half. Their enthusiasm to win the ball at the breakdown lead to them conceding a number of penalties and from one of the is Sudbury made to touch close to the Harlow try line, won the ball and recycled it quickly to cross for the try. The conversion was short but the score provided a stimulus to the visiting side who continued to mount pressure on Harlow. A few minutes before halftime Harlow found themselves back in the Sudbury half and a series of good forward drives took them towards the try line before pushing the ball wide to the backs to allow Chris Webb on the wing to touch down in the corner for an unconverted try. It allowed Harlow to go into the interval with a 29 points to fire if lead and more important having recaptured the initiative in the game.

A second half was a much more closely fought contest and now that they had the advantage of the slope Sudbury tried to take the game back to Harlow. For most of the time however hard and committed tackling by the Rams broke down the attacks before they really had made significant ground. When Harlow were under pressure very good tactical kicking took play back up towards the Sudbury try line. Attacking drives by the Harlow forwards maintained the pressure and although on several occasions they released good ball to the backs Sudbury defence managed to hold out. The final Harlow score came with only minutes to go; the Sudbury defender was caught in possession and tackled by Rob Treamer. He tried to offload the ball in the tackle but was anticipated by the Harlow centre Chris Bates who intercepted the pass a few paces short of the try line and touched down for a score under the posts. Dobson converted for a final score of 36 points to five.

Next week Harlow are away to Beccles who occupied bottom slot in the table. It is very much a he must win situation if they are going to maintain contact with the club’s above them and have a chance of climbing out of the relegation area. Although the form book would indicate that this is a winnable game Harlow would do well to reflect on Saturdays result and on waterside can sometimes pull out when their backs are really against the wall. The fact that III of Harlow’s remaining five games of the first half of the season are against the top three teams in the league make the match against Beccles even more critical.

Next week Harlow are away to Beccles who occupied bottom slot in the table. It is very much a he must win situation if they are going to maintain contact with the club’s above them and have a chance of climbing out of the relegation area. Although the form book would indicate that this is a winnable game Harlow would do well to reflect on Saturdays result and on waterside can sometimes pull out when their backs are really against the wall. The fact that III of Harlow’s remaining five games of the first half of the season are against the top three teams in the league make the match against Beccles even more critical.

Tries: Rob Mackie (2), Scott Romaine, Simon Vanbeck, Chris Webb, Chris Bates

Conversions: Michael Dobson  

Penalties:

Team List

1 - Danny Lane  

2 - Scott Romaine  

3 - Paul Prindiville (Sub Martin Cunningham 60 mins)  

4 - Marc Barr  

5 - Darren Hawkins  

6 - Shaun Roberts (Sub Rob Treamer 65 mins)  

7 - Mark Bowering  

8 - Paul Eynon  

9 - Charlie Woodington (Sub Lee Harron 73 mins)  

10 - Michael Dobson

11 - Simon Vanbeck
12 - Chris Bates
13 - Luke Bowering

14 - Chris Webb

15 - Rob Mackie

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