Every Party Has a Winner and a Loser

Looking back at the match report for the reverse fixture earlier in the season, this game was more or less a repeat performance. Forest were quicker to the breakdown, their runners had more support, and their error count was low. They displayed greater desire and performed better as a team.

Poor decision making plagued Harborough throughout, whether in defence or attack, and this put them under pressure of their own making. They were soon 0 – 5 down, with the windy conditions making for a difficult day with the boot.

There was a lot of huff and bluster from the home side, but not much in the way of decisive rugby. Mathew Stamp played a nice chip ahead and was unlucky not to gather and score, but generally, solo runners and handling errors were to be Harborough’s undoing.

Stamp pulled a score back with a smart break from the base of a scrum and Will Hallam kicked exceptionally well to take the score to 7 – 5.

In the second half, Forest showed their determination to win the game by opting to kick a penalty, taking the score to 7 – 8. Then came concerted effort from the visitors and despite the effort in defence, Harborough could not hold out. The break finally came with a quality step off the left foot for the fly half to score under the posts. Despite the wind, the try was converted to leave the final score at 7 – 15. Harborough need to up their game for the remainder of the season.