Harrop leads from the back as Harborough 2nds overcome Old Boys

Fraser Harrop stepped up from the Colts to play at full-back for Harborough 2nds and put in a man-of-the-match performance, in attack and defence, as Harborough overcame visitors, Stamford COBs 22-5 at Northampton Road.

Once again they started slowly and the sides looked evenly matched as Harborough failed to capitalise on good ball. This changed as the first half progressed and they pressured the COBs defence. A combination of forward drives led to the opportunity to spread the ball wide and Ben Windle made no mistake running in to touch down in the corner. The conversion was missed but they soon doubled their score with an excellent passage of play.

With the pack winning the ball the ever industrious Jack Smith broke clear and once again Harrop was in support to make excellent ground before committing the defence and supplying Windle with an inch perfect pass for his second score. In the second period Harborough again started slowly and allowed COBs back into the game as they drove over for an unconverted try.

The lesson was learnt and Harborough upped their game to take control. Two further tries followed, the first by Harrop, once again in the right place at the right time and the second from Ben Wade following an excellent long pass by Nick Airey. Airey added a conversion from wide out and hit the crossbar with his second attempt.

There were many positives to take from this performance with the pack looking strong notably powerful running from Jack Digby and Ryan Gibson. There was also impact from the bench with James Stubbs adding dynamism plus vocal encouragement plus Shaun Morris and Mike Alcorn excellent at the breakdown.