Rugby club throw down gauntlet in new campaign
By Jim Morgan at The Pavilion, Red Lodge on Monday, 24th September 2012.
It is not normal to start a match report with a set of play in the 57th minute, but this summed the Haverhill spirit, which bodes well for the campaign this season.
Mildenhall were all over Haverhill like a rash, camping on their try-line for three minutes. Wave after wave of set and drive was pushed back, with Mildenhall actually mauling over the try-line, only to be repelled and the ball turned over. The 'thou shalt not pass' mentality was set.
With Haverhill returning to Red Lodge Pavilion after last week’s emphatic shield win, Mildenhall took to the pitch with trepidation writ large on their faces.
Starting well, it took Haverhill ten minutes to get on the scoreboard with a Jake Jeffs converted penalty from the half way line and 0-3.
The word 'flowing' is how to describe much of the rugby being practised by Haverhill and there was a great set of moves on 18 minutes, with Jack Wilkinson making some very hard yards and then releasing Mike Woods to jink through and set the ball perfectly three metres out for quick phase ball from Gavin Hope to spin wide to Jeffs and then skipper Hunt to release the storming Brodie Patrick to crash over the line for a Jeffs converted try.
Sustained pressure seven minutes later saw Mildenhall infringe and the quick-thinking Hope tapped and ran straight through the Mildenhall line to stroll over the line under the posts for 0-17 with Jeffs taking the two points with ease.
Another Jeffs penalty on 35 minutes took the score to 0-20 and then, from a Haverhill scrum on their 22m line, Simon Potter broke from the back, releasing Hope for Jeffs to time the perfect pass for Patrick to storm 70 metres up the wing, cutting into the park and finishing up with three Mildenhall players hanging from him as he crossed the line under the posts for his second try with Jeffs converting for 0-27 at half-time.
The restart saw Derren Carew and Simon Lester coming on for Chris Flannery and Joe Brown. This is part of the new rotating subs, where eight replacements can be made through the game.
On 49 minutes, another infringement by Mildenhall was punished by Hope who chipped and scored under the posts for Jeffs to convert.
The restart saw Dan Harris taken in the air for a penalty to Haverhill and a clever move of Jeffs kicking to the opposite corner nearly paid off for Lester, but Mildenhall just managed to clear.
It was not long though before Haverhill crossed the line, although slightly luckily. With a two man overlap, Hunt cut back into the centre, but managed to just get the ball to Carew who slammed over the line for 0-39, the conversion just going wide.
On 55 minutes another flowing move saw a super quick ball in the backs with Woods coming into the line in the outside centre position to release Hunt who timed the perfect ball for Wilkinson to storm over the line under the posts for Jeffs to convert.
Flannery returned for Dan Harris and with Joe Brown returning for Patrick.
It was here Mildenhall’s stoical effort to score was repelled, but at the end of the phase, Jeffs worryingly limped off with his last year's injury causing concerns. Patrick returned to the wing, with Lester moving to scrum half and Hope dropping to fly half.
Another Mildenhall attack led to a 22m drop-out, which Hope took, sending a huge punt 70 metres up the park for the gazelle-like Hunt to harry the Mildenhall full back and to score in the corner. His conversion failed for 0-51.
With ten minutes remaining, a Mildenhall put-in in a five-metre scrum saw Haverhill push the scrum back, but a rushed Mildenhall clearance only went as far as the storming Hunt, who smashed over in the corner for 0-56.
With the Mildenhall scrum being destroyed at will and the ground as hard as marble, no one was surprised with the referee blew for time within three minutes of this now final score.
Haverhill still have areas to improve on, but this was one of the best defensive performances seen for many a year and showed a ruthlessness in a team which does not want to be in Eastern Counties Division Two for too long if they have their way.
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