Date: Sat 14th Jan 2017

Time: 2pm

Match Report

Harlow Rams 89 – Basildon II 0

The Rams were back in action on Saturday in a Merit Table fixture against Basildon. Harlow fielded a strong squad that was bolstered by the return from long term injury of James Clark, Owen Blissett and, Scott and Dale Stalley. It wasn’t long after the first whistle that The Rams started piling on the points.

The Basildon kick off landed squarely in the arms of Dan Stevenson who immediately went on the attack, quickly aided by the rest of the pack and setting up quality possession for the Harlow backs to exploit. Phase after phase of attack brought The Rams deep into Basildon territory but the visitors finally managed to stem the attack and clear their lines. The respite was to be brief.

Again The Rams advanced. A couple of forward drives and the space was created, Will Grimley slicing through the defence to go over in the corner. A hard conversion attempt for Chay Clark but The Rams fly-half was up to the task; 7-0.

The Rams went straight back on the attack from the restart and again powered their way into the opposition twenty-two. The Basildon defence seemed to be holding firm but the pressure was now becoming intolerable, Charlie Robinson breaking clear and diving over in the corner. Another difficult kick for Clark but again he was up to the task; 14-0.

The continued pressure was creating an abundance of space for the Harlow backline to exploit and it wasn’t long before it was 21-0, Andy Tarsey stepping through the defence and speeding off for the tryline.

There seems to be a bit of confusion over the next score. To the watching spectators it appeared that Danny Fitz dived over from a Harlow maul, virtually on the tryline but, in conversation with Fitzy after the game, he was adamant that said maul was actually on the halfway line and the Harlow prop raced half the length of the pitch to score his try. Either way, it was now 26-0 with only fourteen minutes played.

Four minutes later and it was 33-0, Tarsey gliding through the Basildon defence for the the second of his four tries.

The visitors tried hard to get their hands on the ball and generate some forward momentum of their own but each time they were stopped in their tracks by the abrasive home defence; Dan McCarthy on the tackled man in an instant to secure the possession and The Rams were back on the attack, Grimley running in his second of the day.

The half was now coming to a close but there was still time for The Rams to add another score to their tally; Ryan Clark barging through the Basildon midfield to dive over under the posts, Halftime and The Rams 47-0 to the good.

Five minutes into the second half and the score was up to 54 with Ryan Clark barging through the Basildon midfield to dive over under the posts; seem to be repeating myself.

The second half was predominantly one-way traffic, the block substitutions on the 50 minute mark adding a new dimension to the Harlow attack.

James Clark was next on the scoreboard following an attack that saw the ball shift hands a dozen times, the close support work of the Harlow pack creating the space for Clark to exploit; 61-0.

Dale Stalley made it 68 nil, outpacing the wide defenders and running in under the posts. The third and fourth Tarsey tries sandwiching a second by James Clark and the day was done. 89-0 and Chay Clark kicking 12 out of 13 conversions. A comprehensive victory.

The Rams are now thirteen points clear at the top of the table with four games remaining.

Scoring
Try; C. Robinson, W. Grimley (2), A. Tarsey (4), D.Fitz, R. Clark (2), J, Clark (2), D. Stalley.
Con; C. Clark (12)

1. Barrie Hussey 2. Mitchell Hodgkinson 3. Danny Fitz 4. Dan Evans 5. Dan Stevenson 6. Dan McCarthy 7. Charlie Robinson 8. James Clark 9. Alfie Clark 10. Chay Clark 11. Will Grimley 12. Ryan Clark 13. Scott Stalley 14. Dale Stalley 15. Andy Tarsey 16. Owen Blissett 17. Jack Almond 18. Ashley Westall 19. Kerry Palmer 20. Ross Ashcroft