Second Half surge falls short

Over recent years, Horsham and H&F have faced off on several occasions and with both teams having been promoted into Regional 1 SE on account of winning their respective leagues, this meeting proved to be yet another exciting instalment befitting of recent matches between the two clubs. Both teams have had different fortunes in the league with H&F seemingly able to gain consistency in selection whereas Horsham have only recently started to see the early season injuries begin to clear. Resultantly, both teams recognised the respective threats posed by each other and in Horsham’s case, the opportunity to secure a win on the road was a realistic target.
The start certainly proved to be the case with Horsham taking the game straight to H&F and following an impressive drive from a penalty at lineout, Jack Osgood scored a try that was well converted by Henry Warwick to take a 7-0 lead. This was short lived however as H&F went through the phases and following an effective switch in the direction of play saw a line break that was well finished by the dangerous backs. With the try unconverted, the score had moved to 5-7 after 5 minutes.
The pattern of the first half now began to emerge. H&F playing an expansive offloading game designed to bring their exciting backs into play, whilst Horsham began to focus on the territorial game. H&F however proved more effective in the first quarter with Horsham granting too much space and in doing so H&F became dangerous. On one such attack, full back Henry Warwick was yellow carded for a high tackle as the attacking player slipped and this extra space gave H&F the invitation to score two converted tries on 11 and 16 minutes to take the score to 17-7 for the home side. The score was pegged back to 17-12 when Declan Nwachukwu put pressure on the kick off and on retaining possession of the ball, dotted down out wide for a try that went unconverted. On 21 minutes, a mistake under the posts as the ball was offloaded out of the tackle to the opposing number 8 saw a converted try conceded and in doing so H&F had earnt their bonus point try with a quarter of the game gone. 24-12 which is how it stayed until halftime.
With the coaches’ message to play more direct and target the speed of the H&F ball, Horsham needed to get on the scoreboard next. Almost from kick-off, a break by the backs put Declan Nwachukwu into space only for the 2v1 to be spurned, the first of 3 missed opportunities. Horsham began to seize control of the game through a combination of aggressive defence, scrum dominance and direct running, particularly from the forwards. Now playing almost exclusively in H&F’s half, it took until 56 minutes before Horsham scored with a try out wide for Mike Watts which went unconverted. 24-17. Horsham continued to press and, in the process, failed to execute two driving mauls – a particular disappointment considering how effective the first maul that resulted in a try was. This profligacy came back to haunt Horsham as against the run of play, on 69 minutes, a strong carry by the H&F 13 saw a good offload out of the tackle and once the line break had been affected, the dangerous backs then finished the try which went converted.
Horsham upped the pace further seeking a try bonus point of their own. Several times, multi phase attack was thwarted through a combination of strong defence but also Horsham impatience as the clock ticked down. On 73 minutes, the 4th try was scored by Marcus Condon, again following multiple phase attack in the H&F 22m and with the try converted, Horsham had pulled themselves back into a position to salvage something from the game. The last 5 minutes saw H&F kick long to close out the game and Horsham went through the phases moving the ball up field. The efforts were considerable by both teams and eventually, when playing in added time, the ball was knocked on by Horsham and with it, a win for H&F.

This proved to be a frustrating afternoon for the Horsham coaches and players who felt this match was there for the taking. H&F had by far the better of the first quarter, but Horsham managed to gain the ascendancy after this and wrest control through much of the second half. The problem was once again allowing the opposition to build an early lead, and whilst the preceding match versus Marlborough saw minimal errors, this match was littered with uncharacteristic mistakes that on other days would have seen a good win. The two tries conceded during the yellow card proved to be the decisive lead and shows just how fine the margins are at this level and are yet another harsh lesson that the young side will need to learn. Although frustrating, another 2 bonus points help climb another place in the league table. At the halfway point in the campaign, Horsham have more home games in the second half of the season compared to away fixtures, and will need to convert potential into good wins if they are to keep in contact with teams in mid table. Next up is London Welsh away which will be another tough test for this young side.