- grounded!

By A Nomad
November 8 2015

What a performance by our young team - scintillating! After less than 20 minutes the game was out of reach for the Hawks, although their second half performance did make Albion work hard. Just prior to the kick off there was a very heavy shower of rain, but the weather improved quite quickly and soon there were clear blue skies - at least until the sun started to set. Dry Leas lived up to its name and the pitch conditions were good.

Albion won the toss and elected to play with the wind advantage in the first half which was blowing diagonally across the pitch from their right to left. At the start Henley secured the ball from a well placed kick, but soon Albion secured a turn over following some good defensive work. Marc Koteczky made a fine break to feed Billy Searle who scampered under the posts for our first try. Tom Putt had no problems making the conversion; Henley Hawks 0 - 7 PARFC.

Clearly Albion have overcome the slow starts we have seen earlier in the season. Henley looked like the team that had just got off a coach after a 4 hour journey. In fact, the scoreboard was also sleeping as the clock had not started prior to this first try. 

Albion’s kicking game was also well tuned to the conditions. A kick to our right wing resulted in Henley kicking the ball straight out from just outside their 22. Quick thinking by Tom Bedford who shouted for the ball for a quick throw back on the 10 metre line could be taken. Realising Henley’s defence was in disarray, it was swiftly taken by Cameron Thompson, and Tom was then able to sprint for the line almost unopposed. Tom Putt’s conversion narrowly went astray; Henley Hawks 0 - 12 PARFC.

Henley did then get some possession and tested Albion’s defence. We conceded a number of penalties, which was a bit worrying. From one of these Henley opted for goal and were successful; Henley Hawks 3 - 12 PARFC.

From the kick off Albion roared back up the pitch when Henley failed to gather. Ethan Ford got there first and was able to sprint in from some distance running towards the posts to make the conversion that much easier for Tom Putt; Henley Hawks 3 - 19 PARFC.

The bonus point try was not long in coming, a good passing movement between the backs enabled Tom Putt to score a try under the uprights and slot the conversion. Have we ever scored four tries in such a short time? Henley Hawks 3 - 26 PARFC.

As you can imagine, the locals were really worried by our scoring rate of almost 2 points a minute. No such concerns for the travelling support. The old adage that it is more tiring to defend rather than attack didn’t really apply - Albion were at full throttle and probably feeling the effects more than their opponents.

But Henley were not completely out of it and they did have opportunities to score. On one occasion they had a two man overlap almost on Albion’s 5 metre line, but bizarrely the player with the ball turned his back towards the try line and his hesitation allowed Albion to snuff out the attack.  Henley did pressure Albion, but attempted driving mauls from lineouts were stopped and our line remained intact.

Albion’s fifth and final try came from Billy Searle - again following some good passing by the backs. This was scored out wide, but Tom Putt was still able to convert it; Henley Hawks 3 - 33 PARFC.

This impressive half came to an end without any further scores. Could Albion keep this up and defend their lead? Some of us had bad memories of a home match against Moseley when a similar lead was frittered away and we escaped with a draw.

In comparison to the first half, the second saw Albion’s defence tested on several occasions. The players reported later that the wind did cause them difficulties and only on a few occasions were they able to mount attacks in Henley’s end of the pitch. In the first half virtually every opportunity was taken, but in the second the ball did not bounce quite so kindly for us. 

One penalty kick saw us go for the line out and a catch and drive, but Henley were able to stop it. Later on another penalty was awarded some distance out, but in the centre of the pitch. Wise heads prevailed and rather than gamble again, Tom Putt went for the sticks and was successful; Henley Hawks 3 - 36 PARFC.

This was the final score. A great performance all round. The back row were excellent in defence and our jumpers performed well in the line outs. As already been mentioned, the backs interplay resulted in several of the scores.

The team clearly is making progress match on match. Any fears that the two week break would hinder their development were soon dispatched with that tremendous start. We advance one place in the table and regain a positive points difference. Later this month, we will encounter a couple of teams at the top of the league. On this performance we should soon be a team that all others will fear. Keep it up lads! Let’s hope that Saturday sees a bumper crowd cheer them on at Brickfields against Darlington Mowden Park.

Match Report: Henley Hawks 3 - 36 PARFC (Nat 1)

Discussion started by Unofficial Plymouth Albion (IP Logged), 08/11/2015 20:37

Unofficial Plymouth Albion
08/11/2015 20:37

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King Albion
08/11/2015 22:30

Great report thank you Nomad. Great to see squad shaping and developing so well.

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ianbol
09/11/2015 00:05

Thanks, Nomad. An enjoyable read.

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plymquin3
09/11/2015 19:58

nice report on the henley site cant do the linky thing not trained for that yet plus some nice photos ( 79 i believe).

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BALION PREDATOR
09/11/2015 20:50

[www.henleyhawks.co.uk]

Excellent read from an onsite perspective .

Plymouth Bred , Plymouth Born .

C'mon Albiiioooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:11:09:20:54:25 by BALION PREDATOR.

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Captain Birdseye
09/11/2015 21:09

Looking at the photos you'd think we never touched the ball. But a good report nonetheless

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