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Match report on Haverhill Rugby Club's 21-12 win at Mistley on Saturday in Eastern Counties League Division Two.

Mistley 12
Haverhill 21

Haverhill lost inspirational scrimmager Martin Ransome in the warm-up, which is always unsettling for a side, and this proved so. When the kick-off did not go the 10m, Haverhill allowed the strong Mistley pack to drive them back to the line for a try inside two minutes, which was not converted.

Haverhill tried to settle from the restart and pressurised the Mistley line three times in quick succession, just failing to cross the line each time. However, there was a feeling that Haverhill were not working as a polished unit, and Mistley pushed back into the Haverhill half, where a poor clearance was luckily not punished by Mistley.

The Haverhill pack was working well in the set, with Matt Stephenson taking a number of balls against the head to give Haverhill possession. A fantastic break-out, started by the clever hands of veteran Mark Jury, allowed a 60m run by Jake Plumridge to get to ten metres from the Mistley line, but a poorly executed pass led to the move breaking down.

On 17 minutes, a Haverhill line-out was won, but the ball was tapped back and not caught, which allowed Mistley to pressurise scrum half Ricky Harris where the pass was dropped by Jury and Mistley picked up and charged over the line for a converted try, making the score 12-0.

From the off, Haverhill's pressure led to a Mistley infringement in front of the posts and Plumridge took the three points on offer taking the score to 12-3.

On 23 minutes Haverhill gave a penalty away, but Ben Jones was taken off to hospital with a dislocated shoulder. He was replaced by Simon Potter who seemed to add the spark that Haverhill had been missing, turning in a great performance throughout the game.

Haverhill now seemed to be buzzing, and on 30 minutes, won a penalty that Plumridge converted to take the score to 12-6.

Mistley fought back from the restart, and some truly awesome tackling from Stephenson and Adam Hunt keep Mistley fighting for territory, where finally they went over the top of a ruck to get to the ball in the Haverhill 22m line and were penalised.

Jury took a quick tap and laid a perfect ball off to Plumridge who ran a full 70m to score in the corner, which he failed to convert, making the score 12-11 on the stroke of half-time.

Haverhill were now working well as a unit and continued to win ball from Mistley and on 51 minutes, a lovely piece of play set Jury up for an excellently executed drop goal to get Haverhill's head in front for the first time.

Again Haverhill pressurised the Mistley line, with Paul Bergin and Chris Flannery making drives for the line, where a quick pass out from Harris to Jury left Mistley exposed and an inch-perfect pass from Jury to Brodie Patrick saw the young winger cross the line right in the corner, to the jubilation of the team, and a good contingent of Haverhill supporters. Plumridge executed a perfect kick to make the score 12-21 on 55 minutes.

Mistley tried everything they had to come back at Haverhill, but did not have enough to break the Haverhill defence. Haverhill were always looking for the extra score, but two penalty kicks and a drop goal attempt all just missed making the lead more comfortable.

Haverhill took the final whistle, much to the pleasure of the team and travelling supporters to make it seven from seven.

Coach Andy Price said after the game: "We had an excellent last hour of the game, but only woke up when we were 12-0 down. The second half was a good, strong performance, but we need to be more clinical and efficient in shutting down the game.

"Coming back from 12-0 can only be described as a good performance, and we continue to march on. We are back home next week and look forward to a large crowd cheering the team on."

Haverhill return home in Eastern Counties II on Saturday against the form side Ipswich YMs. Kick off 2pm.

* Our picture shows Haverhill's Tony Smith (scrum cap) preparing to turn over Mistley ball as the Haverhill defence stops another Mistley attack.