Horsham secure second successive win in strong performance

Horsham secured their second successive win in London 1 South away at H.A.C. now understanding the pace and intensity required to succeed in this league following promotion on a bone hard pitch in hot conditions.

The Green and Whites head coach Nick Stocker said after the game: “I’m very pleased to secure another 5 points following our most complete performance to date. The speed that the guys are learning at is exceptional - testament to their hard work on the training pitch and their hunger to play. HAC is a tough place to visit and in tough conditions, took control from the start and got the rewards eventually.”

Chiswick based side H.A.C. finished fifth in London 1 North last year but are having a difficult start to the season, playing sides south of the River Thames following a lateral transfer enforced by the geographic locations of teams in London & South East being promoted and relegated.

After good pressure and great carries from likes of Finn Hillicks, Kyle Fairs and Jack Osgood, Horsham saw some front foot ball and eventually a penalty was awarded which was well converted by Joe Wilde.

H.A.C. countered through their excellent backs with a converted try through pace out wide and a line break after Horsham were caught with their defence a little narrow.

The Green and Whites responded and after a penalty was kicked to corner a good drive sucked in sufficient players to create the space out wide to bring Declan Nwachukwu into the line following an advantage being played to finish well in the corner which was well converted by Wilde to lead 10-7 after 21 minutes.

Horsham built on this with a great defensive scrum which saw field position secured and from the resulting scrum, they generated a good drive and a blind side attack for Declan Nwachukwu to power over his opposite man to finish strongly for his second try which was well converted from out wide by Wilde. This was followed by a penalty awarded after great pressure at the scrum which brought the H.A.C. backs offside in middle and was slotted by Wilde.

H.A.C. then came back with a well worked try on the stroke of half time after Horsham had tried to move the ball and subsequently gave up field position. With a penalty conceded, the ball was eventually moved wide by the hosts to score. The try was unconverted and the Green and Whites went into the break 20-12 up.

Horsham started the second half strongly. Good field position was earned and following a series of drives for the line, Finlay Hillicks came on a great line to burst through the defender to score under the posts. Surprisingly the try was unconverted by Wilde despite having earlier made kicks from the touchline look easy. Minutes later the Green and Whites increased their lead when Wilde kicked a penalty awarded following good pressure on the H.A.C. 10 metre line.

H.A.C. then scored their third try following multiple phases which was converted to narrow the deficit to 28-19. Nwachukwu completed his hat-trick following a good counter attack by Mike Watts who beat his man and sent his teammate away to score and secure for Horsham the four try bonus point. Wilde then added a penalty to take the lead to 36-19.

There was still time for H.A.C to secure their own four try bonus point which was well converted, and then for Horsham in the last play to go through multiple phases before Jordan Bell struck a perfectly weighted crossfield kick for Watts to catch on the full to finish well which was converted by Wilde.

Stocker added: “The set piece was strong and with this quality of possession we could get our runners carrying well and crossing the gain line regularly. With our young half backs dictating both field position and tempo, we fashioned a number of opportunities throughout and indeed butchered 4 overlaps which would have undoubtedly resulted in tries. If there is an area that we need to get considerably better at, it is the converting of opportunities created!

With a number of strong performances from the forwards with the likes of Kyle Fairs, Jack Osgood, Jonny Goward, and Nick Bell all carrying well, alongside the ever persistent threat at the breakdown by the likes of Jordan Smith, Vince Everitt and Jamie Redmayne, the quality and speed of the ball showcased Aaron Linfield’s passing and Jordan Bell’s control. With the backs asking questions via good carries from Jonny Ordidge and Joe Wilde and the back three a threat throughout, as demonstrated by yet another Declan Nwachukwu hat trick and Mike Watts well taken try on full time, it took an excellent performance from Finn Hillicks to secure man of the match this week. His work under the high ball, threats when carrying and ability to get over the gain line was capped off with a fine try.

Next week we are back at home hoping to build some momentum with another tough fixture against Cobham.”

Horsham: Watts; Nwachukwu, Wilde, Ordidge, Condon (Squires); Bell J, Linfield; Barber (Cass), Fairs, Bell N; Goward, Osgood; Redmayne (capt) (Smith), Everitt, Hillicks