Derby Day

Sunday saw an u13s heavyweight clash between Market Harborough and Old Northamptonians. Both sides unaccustomed to losing, this was always likely to be a corker. And so it proved.

Right from the kick off, ON’s put Harborough under pressure and it was clear that whoever was to prevail would need to be at the top of their game. ON’s scored first. Winning the ball at a scrum in their own half, the ball went through quick hands and a break through the centre resulted in a try under the posts, smartly converted.

Harborough responded well to going a score behind. Playing close through the forwards, Harborough were punching holes but the ON’s defence repelled every attack. A series of drives eventually resulted in a try for Henry Povoas. The conversion was missed in windy conditions.

Harborough’s tight five upped their game and started to exert their influence. Some strong running from Will Hallam and James Melody, supported in the centre by Sam Pindling, gave Harborough plenty of possession, but they were unable to break the ON’s defence. Finally, the forwards camped on the ON’s line and forced the ball over for try number two, giving the home side a 10 – 7 lead at half time.

Behind they may have been, but they were far from beaten. ON’s came back strongly in the second half, even with the wind against them. The strong running Number 8 scored next to give ON’s the lead again, taking the score to 10 – 12.

The pressure began to tell on Harborough. Despite dominating possession, a series of handling errors and missed tackles meant they failed to make the most of their opportunities. The momentum was maintained by powerful runs from Hallam, Cameron Jordan and Huw Davies, who also popped up to make covering tackles on the wing. Harborough’s Number 8 finally managed to force his way over again after ON’s had withheld a series of try line sieges with impressive defence.

The final try of the game was scored by Povoas, putting the icing on the cake with a pick up from the base of a scrum and pinballing to the line. The final score of 20 – 12 to Harborough does not tell the whole story of a hard game, between two sides with impressive records. After a few weeks enforced rest due to bad weather, Harborough blew the cobwebs away with a great win.