HALSTEAD TEMPLARS 81

HARWICH & DOVERCOURT II 5

Eastern Counties League division one south

HALSTEAD Templars showed what a difference a week can make as they went into a Christmas break in Eastern Counties League division one south action with a morale-boosting victory.

In testing conditions, they beat fellow newly-promoted side Harwich and Dovercourt seconds 81-5 with a victory that has almost certainly secured Halstead’s place in division one south.

The Knights are now seven points clear of Harwich with two games to play, including one against bottom of the league Brightlingsea.

It was a different situation for the Templars from the last couple of weeks.

After hosting Sudbury with only 13 men and then travelling to Ipswich with not many more and going down by 60 points both times, Halstead had players in abundance this time and it was Harwich who travelled light.

In the spirit of the game, though, the hosts lent the visitors all their spare players and started the game one short so the journey wasn’t wasted and a game could take place.

Halstead scored eight tries at consistent pace throughout the first half and had secured the bonus point try within 20 minutes when Oli Cuthbert crossed for his second.

Jake Fitzsimmons and Jack Pawsey had also grabbed tries and Pawsey had converted all four.

The scrums - reduced to seven men - all went one way and Ed Merry, standing in as scrum-half and captain, grabbed the fifth try with a pick up and dart off the back of a solid drive forward.

The scrum would continue to be dominated by the home side with the front three of Craig Trevain, Adrian Illingworth and Ryan Rainer giving a solid platform to build from.

Merry and Pawsey had good service throughout the game and were able to let the backs loose at every opportunity.

Brett Ballard and Matt Harwood linked well in the centres and Cuthbert and Tom Ranson looked poised to score from all over the park.

Fitzsimmons hit line effectively going forward from full back and the extra pace he brought to the game left defenders standing.

Harwich may have been on the back foot from the first whistle, but they never stopped trying to come forward and they were dominant in the line-out.

They also kicked well and scored their only try when a long clearance wasn't claimed cleanly, but it was the visitors' sole scoring success of the afternoon and the Templars responded with a quick flurry of three more tries.

Ranson crossed twice, once outpacing the defence and once after Ben Bird had broken blind off a scrum, and Fitzsimmons drew the half to a close by scoring under the posts.

Pawsey converted again and the Templars went in at the break leading 52-5.

The first try of the second half came when Cuthbert broke through a disorganised defensive line and Ballard went over and Bird added another.

Either side of Bird’s try, Ed Pawsey bagged a brace of tries and Harwood scored the final try from inside his own half from an excellent solo effort after shrugging off defenders on a 40-yard sprint.

Halstead also had two tries disallowed, but with score now at 81-5 and the weather worsening, it was no surprise or disappointment when the captains and referee agreed to call the game to a halt 20 minutes early.

Between the three Halstead goal kickers, Jack Pawsey had converted seven of nine attempts and Sam Edwards potted two of three.

There now follows a break from league action for Suffolk Cup involvement before a series of cross division matches starts with the Templars potentially travelling as far afield as Diss and Norwich.

Halstead's seconds, meanwhile, will face Braintree on Saturday in the club's final game of 2018.