Men in Black: Harpenden Make it through to the Next Round of the Cup

Even with a thousand changes, Harpenden ease into the next round of the Intermediate Cup, leaving Harlow Stunned and with a mouth as dry as a tight heads flip-flop. Match report taking in full from www.hrfc.co.uk

Harlow 15 Harpenden 30

“Send in the clowns” a Stephen Sondheim song from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of an Ingmar Bergman film seemed a fitting song for Harpenden’s 2nd round national cup visit to Harlow on Saturday. No less than 6 players were either making their starting debut for the 1st team (Francis, Farenhiem, Ledgewig, Flip Flop and Cooper) while the evervescent figure of Stanley was enjoying somewhat of a renaissance season. For the un-initiated, Flip Flop, plucked from obscurity in the Mighty Fourths Academy (The 1st team’s feeder side), is a tight head prop at the start of what could be a wonderful career. Indeed, the very site of the man at the club before his debut brought floods of memories from mothers and fathers sending their children off to the trenches or to the safety of the countryside. Tears, hugs and the mandatory waving of handkerchiefs from fellow fourth team combatants Walls and Richardson touched the hearts and minds of the more battle-hardened first team folk. Despite the loss of coaches Traxon (currently on set at the filming of the Hobbit motion picture) and Longdon (a last-minute Duncan Goodhue look-a-like appearance) the merry band took to the road to Harlow.

The game began with Harpenden on the back foot as Harlow dominated the early exchanges, using a combination of the pitches’ camber and the customary hostile approach to everything. A number of scrums set the tone for the opening minutes, with Harlow making good yards off the base. The opening score came from a catch and drive from a heavy and determined Harlow pack, which splintered through the Harpenden ranks. The conversion was made and Harlow led 7-0. Captain Tennant steadied the ship as he does so often, and began to kick the corners from several home-team infringements. Centers Cooper and Kearns combined well from the outset uniting the strength of the former, and the guile of the latter. One such break by Kearns saw the speedster tear through several tacklers only to be thwarted at the last. Tennant’s speculative kick from the 9 position caused angst in the Harlow ranks and the Farenhiem’s aggressive chase a try was scored, with Smith nonchalantly adding the extras. The pressure from the Men in Black began to simmer nicely with Hoare a constant threat and Green a menace at the breakdown. Harpenden set their stall in the Harlow lawn and the pressure told as a penalty infringement gifted Smith the easiest of conversions for 3 points. Back came Harlow with a well slotted penalty attempt following Payne’s attempt to overcomplicate the simplest of kicking duties. However, retribution was swift and sweet, as following excellent close quarter gains Blake and Jali forced Harlow onto the rear and from the sweetest of passes Francis tore through the home team’s defense. The training-ground move gave Harpenden the luxury of a 17-10 half-time lead.

The Men in Black, often guilty of committing the most cardinal of sins; a slow, lazy start after half time reversed the trend with the score which received universal praise. Stanley’s lineout steal created quick ball which released Smith who bought some strong yardage. Quick ruck-ball enabled Tennant to find Payne who found the wanting hands of Jali. Forwards combined with backs as possession was recycled at will, ramping up the tempo to a level which Harlow could not contend with. From a final pick and drive from Hoare, Payne found Kearns who picked a delicate out-to-in line and sped his way over the line for his fourth try in three games (22-10). The conversion was missed but Harpenden had their tales up. However, Harlow failed to read the script and asserted themselves by utilizing a close-quarter game which yielded quick returns. The Essex side began a period of possession and territorial domination which yielded a try following the sin-binning of center Kearns. Despite belligerent defense from Cooper, Hoare and Watkins the Harpenden defense cracked to allow a score wide out on the left, Harlow utilizing the extra man effectively.

The Men in Black, with only a 7 point lead to show for 60 minutes of decent play knew that a defensive approach would only bring defeat upped the tempo by introducing Muskett and Chichester-Miles to the fray. It worked. Again Harpenden increased the tempo delivering an exemplary off-loading game which not only retained possession but also caused Harlow to infringe. Harpenden’s scum became increasingly solid as the game wore-on owing to fitness levels. Tom Hoare gained yards with aplomb, ably assisted by Tennant which provided key front-foot ball. With Kearns back into the fray following his appearance in the bin, Harpenden made the game safe with two quick scores combining tempo and composure. Green, running ever-intelligent support lines profited from Harpenden’s offloading game as first Hoare then Jali stole meters, from which Green’s support line was rewarded by an excellent team try for Smith (27-15). With time running down on the clock, Smith again stepped up and drove a dagger into Harlow hearts with a clinical penalty creating the final winning margin of 30-15. There was, however, enough time for nostalgia to make an appearance in the form of Flip Flop. The young Boy Scout providing extra ballast to the scrum time, adding pathos to the lyrics;

“Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?”

Team;

Blake, Jali, Ledgewig, Stanley, Macintosh, Watkins, Hoare, Green, Tennant ©, Payne, Smith, Cooper, Kearns, Farenhiem, Francis.

Substitutes;

Flip Flop for Ledgewig (72”), Chichester-Miles for Watkins (65”), and Muskett for Francis (65”). Not used – T. Tennant.