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LAST MINUTE MISERY
HENLEY HAWKS 17 CANTERBURY 16
by David Haigh
A converted try in the final play of the match snatched a dramatic victory for the Hawks and left Canterbury a hugely disappointed team. The city side had led from the fourth minute to the last and a losing bonus point was scant reward for their efforts. On a day when the shape of the game was dictated by the wind and rain of winter storm Bert, it was the city side who edged the territorial battle to establish an eight point advantage by half time. With scoring chances at a premium in the testing conditions it was a good position to be in, but their failure to exploit attacking positions in the second half proved costly. From the start, the pack caused Henley problems at both scrum and lineout, grappled powerfully in the loose and got an early reward through a Frank Reynolds penalty goal. Despite losing hooker Eoin O’Donoghue to a yellow card, Reynolds added another valuable three points after 22 minutes. It was against the run of play when Henley replied with the first try of the afternoon, Lailand Gordon snapping up loose ball in his own 22 metre area and breaking free before his long kick ahead was chased down well by scrum half Aidan Pugh. Max Kitchener was off target with a kickable conversion and the city side quickly found a score of their own. Pressure and penalties gave them the chance and on a day when the backs on both sides were largely redundant as an attacking option, wing Garry Joined the driving maul to touch down and Reynolds converted. As conditions worsened after the break the action was all arm wrestle with the forwards slugging it out. Hawks struck early as they cured some of their possession problems, kicked effectively and got a catch and drive try by Beau Delaney. Canterbury worked hard to find scoring positions but were failed by penalties and handling errors which left them relying on Reynolds’ third penalty goal. It opened a six point lead which might have been enough but in those crucial last minutes they came under severe pressure. Aaron Cooper was yellow carded for a technical offence and, after three attempts, a driving maul ended with hooker Spencer Hayhow’s try. Titchener, who had missed every shot a goal up to that point, was on the money when it mattered.
Canterbury: K.Heatherley, A.Moss, F.Morgan, W.Waddington, G.Jones, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, O.Frostick, E.O’Donoghue, D.Herriott, D.Irvine, J.Stephens, C.Thomas, T.Mackenzie, T.Oliver T.Williams, S.Rogers, A.Cooper, Y. De Mowbray, H.Young
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