Harborne take a game of two distinct halves

Following complaints that last week’s effort was too long, you only get a (slightly) abbreviated version this week!

For those who want the very short version; Harborne managed to take a bonus point win against Bromyard, but its fair to say we leaked two losing bonus points to Bromyard in the process.

Kit changes, Changing room fiascos and a coach worried about coughing, laughing or moving aside it was a lovely winter’s day to play.

Right from the off, Harborne held onto ball and ran it at the opposition, though not with the direct and straight lines needed to maintain the space out wide. Up stepped the ref to enforce his rather precise influence on the game. Maintaining the pack in stress positions seemed his forte.

Everyone will admit this was a game of two halves. Harborne spending almost the entire first half in possession and with most territory in the Bromyard half. Our lineout was firing pretty well, with Clark and Ciaran spoiling plenty of their ball and giving Hodgy quick ball. In fact it was quick off the top ball that led to their only chance for points as Badams was penalised for obstructing off the ball, but the kick was well short.

There was some truly outstanding interplay between forwards and backs alike. Half breaks became full breaks as players (Emir excluded) looked to pass and offload to continue the breaks.

With Tom Williams deciding to exert all his energy into charging at the opposition, a superb offload as he was finally brought down released Ben Wright and eventually Emir (henceforth christened “the space assassin”) who went over for his first try of a hatrick. Unconverted, we continued to pressure their scrum and with Tony again enjoying his partnership with Roger on the loosehead side, Bromyard were struggling for any possession. Then despite going backwards, they managed a hook against the head. Their 8 picked up in his own 22, went blind and was brought down with Rhys upset by their hooker’s efforts he stripped the ball, popped to Will Arnold who cut through their disorganised line and scored near the posts for Wrighty to convert.

Further attacks followed with Ben Wright adjudged to have just been bundled into touch, the opposition attempt at a quick lineout was caught and scored by Choccy, however the ref blew to reset the lineout fully. A number of runs and interplay were launched, and often from within our own half, but failed to make it deep into the 22. Ball was finding its way to the wings, but a failure to straighten was depriving the wingers of space. Emir’s second try came from another looping run, cutting out onto the wing as his support all cut inside giving plenty of options, he chose plan A (usually the same as B&C) keep the ball and head for the line.

As the half concluded, 17-0 up we had again had lions share of possession territory and held the upper hand in scrum and lineout, yet you could sense Bromyard felt they still had a chance.

They didn’t take long to show it. As we broke 70 yards down the field and into their 22, a single loose pass was returned to our end of the field where their forwards decided that they had been bullied in the scrum enough and proceeded to pound our lines till they forced the first score of the half. The introduction of Ben Smith into the front row, deciding to swap sleep between his night shifts for a runabout, was rewarded with yet more incisive runs. As he cut through their defence, we pressured the line hard and Ben Wright went over for the bonus point try, which his brother chose not to honour with the extra two points.

A period of sharp breaks followed and with Josh Sharp coming off the wing, Clark broke free and just as he was dragged down, adjudged to have popped the ball forward to Josh…marginal call. The pressure was maintained and the scrum taken against the head, despite the Bromyard pack being resurgent. Further pressure again saw Emir with ball in hand charging to the line for his third try and the conversion by Mark.

Bromyard still kept hitting hard. Offloading and heavy carries ensued. The subsequent Bromyard play saw their second row run at Will Arnold who put in a thudding hit, but as his feet left the ground, the Bromyard player upturned and landed on his shoulder resulting in Will’s yellow card and Harborne with the rest of the match down to 14. Despite the man down, further Harborne pressure drew a penalty and three more points.

The final ten minutes however all belonged to Bromyard. Initially wanting the bonus point for the fourth try, they also smelt the chance of not just the second bonus point but also the win. In fairness, it was more the clock that stopped them as their momentum built than it was our defence. As their kicker merely decided to drop kick and miss the final conversion after their pack scored tries three and four, the final score stood 32-26.

On reflection a game of two definite halves. The first half saw some of the best interplay and line breaks all season. The second half saw a distinct “foot off gas” response. For the second week on the trot we failed to put the game out of sight. A bonus point win will suffice, Bromyard should be commended on their second half performance but if we are to be honest, they should have long been closed out of the game. The remaining two league matches away at Cannock and home to Clee Hill (2nd and 3rd) in the league will definitely test our precision and defence!