Titchener’s late kick seals Henley vital losing bonus point

A LATE Max Titchener penalty kick secured what could be a priceless losing bonus point for Henley Hawks at Esher on Saturday, but it could have been much more for the visitors in their bid to avoid the drop from National Divisoin 2 East.

In the end, it was a hat-trick for Esher wing James Botterill and a poor first half that was ultimately the difference between the two teams, with the Hawks going in 14-0 behind at the interval leaving themselves with too much of a mountain to climb in the second half.

Playing against a stiff breeze in the first period, Henley almost took the lead with just a minute on the clock when a superb kick through from Toby Howe saw the fullback just pipped to the ball by his opposite number, Henry Bedson, who was able to clear the danger.

Esher slowly grew into the game and took the lead on the six minute mark when Botterill ghosted his way through some poor Henley tackling to dot down under the posts. Owen Waters converted and the home side had an early lead at 7-0.

That lead was extended 10 minutes later following a yellow card to Hawks wing Lailand Gordon for a deliberate knock-on, and the home side took full advantage with Botterill crossing the whitewash out wide for his second. Waters added the extras and Esher had pulled away to a 14-0 advantage,

Frustratingly for Henley they had opportunities in the remainder of the half to cut the deficit, but just couldn’t take advantage when the chances presented themselves with basic errors creeping into their game.

Howe’s speed was causing the home side problems and his scintillating break through the heart of the Esher defence presented Henley with a two-on-one overlap, but a missed pass saw the ball knocked on giving the home side a reprieve.

Esher prop Jacob Morris was yellow carded shortly before the interval following a dangerous tackle on Oscar Busby, but try as they did, Henley just couldn’t quite fashion an opening and they went in at the break with a big challenge ahead of them to get something from the game.

With the wind at their backs in the second half, Henley came out with renewed purpose and got themselves on the scoreboard after 46 minutes when Callum Jones cut an excellent line on the Esher 22 to dodge his way through the home side’s defence to dot down. Titchener added the conversion and Henley were right back in it at 14-7.

Despite the setback, Esher’s physicality and doggedness kept Henley at bay, and the hosts pulled into a two-score lead on the hour mark with a well-struck Waters penalty giving them a 10 point lead at 17-7.

This lead was extended after a clever kick through the back of the Henley defence from Esher replacement scrum half Sam Bullock saw Botterill quickest to react, and the wing made no mistake in dotting down for his treble. Waters missed the conversion from out wide, but Esher now had an almost insurmountable lead at 22-7 with seven minutes remaining.

To their credit, Henley kept fighting hard and grabbed their second try of the game just a couple of minutes later when George Wood was on hand to finish off an excellent break from Busby. With Titchener’s conversion, Henley were still eight points behind at 22-14 heading into the final minutes.

The Hawks were awarded a penalty right at the end of the game and Titchener kept his nerve to pull them back into bonus point range at 22-17. Despite having one last opportunity to create another opening, a knock-on spelled the end of the game leaving Henley with just one point to show for their efforts.

Henley Hawks: 15 Howe, 14 Busby, 13 Jones, 12 Leach, 11 Gordon, 10 Titchener, 9 Webb, 1 Fakatou, 2 Hayhow, 3 Shpylka, 4 Elsey, 5 Goodison, 6 Brown, 7. White, 8 Benning. Replacements: 16 Poiner, 17 Bailey, 18 Basil, 19 Delaney, 20 Wood.