Ongar 16 - 22 Rams

Date: Sat 10th Dec 2016

Time: 2pm

Match Report

The second half of the BL campaign began on Saturday with The Rams setting off on the long trip to Ongar. Harlow had convincingly won the first league encounter with Ongar earlier in the season but Saturday was to prove a much closer affair.

The early exchanges saw The Rams look to be gaining an early ascendency but they were unable to capitalise on it until twenty minutes in when Chay Clark slotted over a penalty kick following an Ongar infringement in front of their posts but within minutes Ongar had repaid the compliment by converting a penalty of their own; 03-03.

The Rams were still the stronger looking team but a few unforced errors and wrong options kept the home team in the chase. Harlow were pushing deep into home territory but Ongar managed to turn the ball over and send a deep clearance kick into The Rams half where a kind bounce saw the it fall sweetly into the chasing players hands. The cover defence managed to close him down ten metres from the tryline but he managed to pass the ball out of the tackle to his support runner and Ongar were 10-03 up. Halftime and things not going to script.

The second half saw The Rams gradually claw back a degree of control which culminated in Jack Almond outpacing the Ongar defence to dive over in the corner. A difficult conversion attempt but Alfie Clark was up to the task, kicking from the furthest reaches of the left-hand touchline; 10-10.

Ongar fought their way back into Harlow territory and were rewarded with another kickable penalty attempt which they gratefully converted; 13-10.

The lead was to be short-lived as Harlow were to reply within minutes; Chay Clark delaying the pass perfectly before releasing Charlie Robinson who picked an unstoppable line through the Ongar defence and raced in from the halfway line for the second Rams try of the day; 13-15.

Another penalty kick saw the home team take a narrow lead before Dan Stevenson sealed the victory with the final try of the day. The Harlow pack drove deep into Ongar territory, setting up an attacking ruck just inside the Ongar twenty-two. The ball was presented well and shipped down The Rams backline to the waiting Stevenson who stepped inside to find the Ongar defence parting to provide him a clear channel through their twenty-two and over the tryline. Chay Clark added the extras; 16-22.

There was still time for one more Ongar attack but this was shepherded into touch by The Rams wide defence before the final whistle sounded. The Rams are now eight points clear at the top of the league.

Scoring:
Try: Jack Almond, Charlie Robinson, Dan Stevenson
Con: Chay Clark, Alfie Clark
Pen: Chay Clark

Squad List:
1.Ashley Westall, 2.Mitchell Hodgkinson, 3.Eric Penney, 4.Dan Evans, 5.James Chapman, 6.Ryan Clark, 7.Dan McCarthy, 8.Dan Stevenson, 9.Andre Riddell, 10. Chay Clark
11.James Behr, 12.Simon Vanbeck, 13.Alfie Clark, 14.Dan Hockley, 15.Jack Almond, 16.Charlie Robinson, 17.Ross Ashcroft

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