Hawks Claim Bonus Point Victory Against The Old Boys

Henley outside half Max Titchener scored 17 points as the Hawks comfortably overcame Old Albanian at Dry Leas on Saturday to claim a bonus point victory by 32 points to 8.

It was a good performance by the Hawks, particularly in the second half with the Henley forwards dominating the breakdown and loose exchanges. The Old Boys, despite a higher league position and some good performances recently, had no answer to the Hawks committed efforts.

The first half though, is not one that will remain in the memories of the supporters for long. Although both sides tried to move the ball wide, the play was littered with handling errors and stoppages throughout.

Despite Old Albanian starting the better of the two sides, the Hawks opened the scoring with a Max Titchener penalty after twelve minutes. However, the Old Boys replied immediately with the first try of the game when a cross kick was collected by wing Jordan Evans who scored in the corner for the visitors.

The Old Boys shaded things in the first half but eventually the Henley loose forwards began to dominate with Tom Vooght winning some good turnovers and Morgan Macrae in good form. The Hawks created a few scoring chances but they went begging due to some unforced errors.

Eventually, with the Hawks attacking in the Old Boys 22, scrum half Will Crow darted through a number of tackles for the first of his two tries which Titchener converted.

The Old Boys then replied with a penalty from Alex Noot but Henley extended their lead shortly afterwards with a further penalty from Titchener which gave the Hawks a 13-8 lead at the break.

The Hawks came out for the second half and produced a totally committed performance in the  and played some of their best rugby of the season, scoring three good tries. They dominated the half, creating some good opportunities and they put immense pressure on the Old Boys as again the Henley  forwards dominated the exchanges.

Henley’s intent was evident right from the start of the half and after both sides had tried attacking moves which had broken down, Henley’s George Wood picked up a loose ball and ran some 40m and was tackled just short of the line. Quick possession allowed Will Crow to cross unopposed for his second try.

The visitors had their moments but when they threatened, they found the Hawks defence tenacious and effective and they kept the Old Boys from scoring for the entire half.

With Tom Vooght dominating the breakdown and Sam Lunnon leading the charges, Henley then scored the try of the match. A good run from Ryan Crowley set up a good attacking position just outside the visitors 22. Some excellent handling from both backs and forwards gave  Zac Taylor the ball in space and he threw an audacious dummy, giving him a free run in to score. Titchener again converted.

Another good Henley break involving Wood and Seb Scott set up a good attacking position. The Old Boys won possession but a horrible clearance kick was pounced on by Max Titchener who capped a fine afternoon by beating the defence to score the bonus point try. He converted his own try to seal the game.

With two successive bonus point victories, the Hawks are now building some momentum and a good win next week against bottom club Westcliff, Will put them in a good position for the final weeks of the season.

Henley Hawks

15 George Wood, 14 Seb Scott, 13 Adam Hakimian, 12  Louis Flynn 11 Ryan Crowley,

10 Max Titchener, 9 Will Crow

1 Rory Mason, 2 Tom Emery, 3 Kaleem Niazi, 4 Sam Lunnon, 5 Zac Taylor,

6 Scott White, 7 Morgan Macrae, 8 Tom Vooght,

Reps: 16 Connor Morris, 17 Charlie Sichel, 18 Marcus Lowe, 19 Reuben Norville , 20 Leo Webb

Report by Nick Pitson and Photo by Steve Karpa