In a tough, tense battle between two sides near the bottom of the table, Havant secured the win through a last-minute try from Wes Dugan, with a Joel Knight conversion depriving Henley of the losing bonus point. The match was dominated by the continuous rain, which even the all-weather pitch struggled to deal with. Havant, although finding it difficult to secure lineout and scrum possession for most of the game, did enjoy regular territorial advantage.

Jack Colbourne, open-side flanker and outstanding this season, suffered what initially seemed to be a serious injury to his neck after a high tackle (curiously unseen by the referee or the touch-judges). Play was suspended for nearly twenty minutes with the teams keeping warm in the changing room. Early reports are that the long procedure we witnessed was precautionary but necessary given the potential seriousness of the injury. We wish him well and also thank the support of Henley medics working alongside the Havant responders. It was noticed too that two of the Henley support team came to the aid of a Havant player on the ground later on, while the Havant medical team were with Jack Colbourne at the side of the pitch. Great credit to them.

Henley kicked off playing from left to right, if you were seated in the main stand, and Craig Durnin got his team off to a good start in the rain with a solid catch. Both sides understandably kicked for the first three minutes, intent on testing each other in the conditions, with Ben Holt taking one high ball well in his own ‘22’. Havant soon won a penalty in the middle of the field and found a good touch on the right in Henley’s half, from the kick.

A second penalty for Havant, given for a Henley player on the wrong side of the ruck, gave Reuben Knight the chance to kick to the 5m line. Havant took the lineout (a rarity for the first fifty minutes) and a great cross field kick was expertly caught by wing Sam Trodd, who got over the line, but great defence from Lailand, the Henley wing, prevented him from touching down.

Havant continued to apply pressure, with a monopoly on possession, including two good half breaks from Jack Colbourne and Ben Holt which took Havant up the field from where they won another penalty. Joel Knight’s boot did the rest, giving the home side a 3-0 lead after 9’.

After ten minutes Henley made their first serious visit into Havant’s half with Havant giving away a penalty for a high tackle – one of the three Havant ‘high tackle’ penalties in the first half. The Henley fly-half Oliver Snook kicked for the corner. From the lineout Henley challenged the Havant line but a good defensive shift, with a solid tackle by Dylan Read standing out, eventually produced a Havant penalty which Reuben Knight kicked to the Havant 10m line.

The away side looked like they were lacking confidence. A good attacking position led to a Havant penalty concession, but the ball was kicked dead, instead of the Havant 5m line. On 17’ Reuben Knight, possibly carrying an injury from last week with his leg strapped up, had to leave the field to be replaced by Tom Gwyther at centre with Jacob Knight moving into fly-half. Not long after, Henley had an attempt at goal from close to halfway but Snook’s kick went to the left of the posts.

Havant worked their way out of danger, helped by a strong Joel Knight tackle and a good Craig Durnin turnover (he produced three during the match) then produced a penalty which was kicked to the visitor’s ‘22’. Havant’s lineout problems were starting to grow however, as a lost ball handed possession back to Henley. They hoisted the ball in the air from which Ben Griffin, solid all match, as he has been all season, took a great catch.

On 21’ Sam Trodd and Dylan Read worked the ball well on the left forcing Henley to concede another penalty with Jacob Knight sending the ball to touch. The lost lineout ball was symptomatic of the problems the side would have and further lineout losses gave Henley the chance to attack for the next few minutes. Henley however, were not really threatening. A scrum penalty to the away side – Havant would struggle in the scrums too for much of the game – gave Oliver Snook at chance at the posts, which he took to make 3-3 on 29’.

The match was turning into the tight tussle the conditions and the pressure of the game itself determined. Havant were creaking badly at scrum and lineout but looked more threatening than the insipid Henley attack. A few minutes after the equalising score, Havant secured a penalty in midfield, which was pushed to touch by Jacob Knight. Havant finally won a lineout ball through Craig Durnin but our attacking maul was well-defended and we conceded lineout possession on the ‘22’.

Havant gave away a penalty for another high tackle, giving Henley good attacking lineout possession. Havant defended well and were the better side at this stage, although not by that much. On 40’ an attempted Jacob Knight kick-through created alarm bells in the Havant ‘22’ when it was blocked and kicked back well by Leech, the Henley centre. Havant forced the ball to touch but, despite losing the lineout, managed to force the ball out, and with it, bring the half-time whistle.

Havant restarted and kicked the ball to the away side’s ‘22’ from where Henley kicked to touch. Havant lost their own lineout once again with Henley forcing a scrum. Another lineout was at last secured by the home side and Ben Holt made an excellent break to take his team close to the Henley ‘22’. Henley got their hands on the ball and kicked the ball out. At this point (47’) Sean Shepherd replaced Cam Boa with an opportunity to throw the ball in. Henley conceded a penalty for kicking the ball away at the ensuing ruck and Joel Knight, opting for goal, slotted the ball over to give the hosts a 6-3 lead on 49’.

Henley finally made into the Havant half almost for the first time since the restart but Craig Durnin, having his best game for Havant, turned the ball over once more. From the lineout, Jack Colbourne made a mini-break and was high-tackled but it became quickly apparent that he might have suffered a serious injury (as covered earlier in this match report).

Wes Dugan replaced Jack Colbourne. After the long stoppage, Havant were given the scrum and Archie Cleeve made a good break up into the Henley ‘22’. The ball was lost however, with Henley clearing to around 30m from their line. Dylan Read made ground too after the lineout and Havant then span the ball right while having penalty advantage. The move came to nothing and the referee went back to the penalty, with Joel Knight’s subsequent goal kick just sliding to the left of the posts.

It was still 6-3 to Havant on 60’ after a couple of low-key attacks from the visitors and two good high ball takes from Ben Griffin. The second half had all been Havant’s up to this point, but Henley were starting to get a bit of ball. Havant however, looked to have sorted out their lineout problems and a rolling maul from one of them took the forwards close to the away side’s ‘22’, from the halfway line. Not long after, Havant secured a penalty at almost the same spot from where Joel Knight had missed a few minutes earlier. Good players learn quickly and he made no mistake this time around, making it 9-3 on 66’.

For the next few minutes Henley secured more ball and were now making their attacks closer to the Havant line. A dangerous attack created space for the Henley right wing who dropped a ball when catching it might have given him a score. Henley were playing with advantage however and soon kicked for the corner (a penalty kick was no good to them at this stage). The attacking side now had a plentiful supply of ball in the home side’s ‘22’ and initiated a prolonged try-line offensive. Havant’s tackling was strong. Eventually however, they got the ball out wide and blind side flanker Liam Goodison touched down on the right. Snook had a good chance with the conversion to give Henley the lead, but he missed. It felt crucial to the outcome. 9-8 to Havant on 76’ now and an atmosphere as tense as can be in the rain and gloom.

From the kick-off Havant secured the ball and Jez Smith made ground into the Henley ‘22’. Henley however got possession for themselves and with kicks and drives worked their way back to Havant’s ‘22’. Havant had to defend with their lives and not give away a penalty while they were doing it. A good high kick from Ben Holt got Havant out of their own 22, Henley knocked on and Havant secured scrum possession, with the host’s scrum having tightened up after the first-half challenges.

With two minutes left, Havant got themselves up the field through sensible wet weather rugby. Close to ‘time’, Havant won themselves a penalty in the Henley half. Joel Knight had a chance to kick for goal but rightly reasoned that a kick to touch would give Havant a seven-point opportunity, thus depriving Henley of a losing bonus point. The tactic worked to perfection. Havant secured the lineout and an unstoppable rolling maul took the side over the line with veteran Wes Dugan coming up with the ball wide on the left. It now needed Joel Knight to knock over a difficult kick to make an eight-point difference in the scores and ensure no Henley bonus point. An excellent kick made the score 16-8 and the referee’s whistle signaled the end of the match.(Doug Miller)