Band of brothers tough it out in Norfolk
By Jim Morgan at High Kelling, Holt on Monday, 17th January 2011.
Haverhill travelled 80 miles with an absolute bare minimum of players to the north-east Norfolk side of Holt.
It was obvious that the 3-6 loss of the start of the season might be tough to emulate, and when you are 28-0 down inside 15 minutes, the sinking feeling that you could come third in the contest was at the forefront of the stoical band of travelling Haverhill supporters.
It is difficult to see positives when the opposition is crossing the line every 90 seconds at one stage of the 'contest', but positives there were to be drawn.
With a very scratch team, the return of Keiron McDonagh to the pack was a welcome sight, with his kicking skills being utilised and an exceptionally good performance as line-out thrower achieving a perfect score of straight throws.
Chris Flannery was excellent at the back of the pack at number eight and won ball against the head in the line-out – a discovery that can be built on.
The front row of Dan Patten (debutant for Haverhill), Alex Wong and Adam French had a torrid time in the first quarter, but a shift of sides for the props allowed for a better base, and Haverhill were able to win good ball with ease.
The pairing of the enigma Martin Ransome and Adrian Cooper in the lock positions is yielding dividends now, with driving moves of the pack being bossed by the duo, stopping Holt from totally controlling every facet of the game.
Second debutant Dan Harris at blind side flanker showed a player of real potential to settle into the Haverhill side in the future.
Scrum half Gavin Hope and fly half Mike Woods turned out some lovely moves from the base of the scrum, maul and ruck, with the back three of full back Simon Lester and wingers Dan Bishop and third debutant Ricky Smith stopping numerous Holt moves in their tracks.
The plaudits however go to Joe Brown and Brodie Patrick as the centre pairing. Tackle after crunching tackle continually broke up the Holt attack, to the extent where it seemed they had a side bet on between each other.
What impressed the Holt support and side was Haverhill played for 80 minutes, going to the turn 47 points down.
Heads never dropped, and with Holt on 92 points with 12 minutes to go, the fact that only one more unconverted try, the 15th of the game, went over the line before the final whistle was viewed with some satisfaction.
After the game, the team enjoyed their time together, celebrating the 'Holt Band of Brothers' who turned out for their club and their town to ensure Haverhill is kept in the Eastern Counties League Division One for a further few weeks.
Let us hope the players' commitment to the club continues to grow due to the exceptionally packed schedule up to the end of the season.
Next week we hope to see the same boys turn out at home to play Fakenham at 2.15pm, the only side they have beaten this season. It will be good to see a good crowd turn out to cheer them on in their mission.
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