HALSTEAD TEMPLARS 15

HARWICH AND DOVERCOURT II 10

Eastern Counties League

division three south

LEADERS Harwich finished a great season with another strong performance as they took on third-place Halstead.

It means they had to settle for second place in the final table and while a victory would have been the cherry on the cake, it a still a great achievement to finish so high.

Templars had not been able to defeat their visitors in the previous nine encounters between the sides.

It looked like the status quo would be maintained as Harwich looked comfortable from the start.

They enjoyed the lion's share of the possession, forcing the Halstead defence on the back foot.

Harwich’s Barney Miller went agonisingly close but, having done the hard work, he was stopped short and unable to free and extend his arm sufficient to make the line.

Wing Adam Harris was busy on the flanks, terrorising the home defence out wide, and the first score looked on the cards.

Surprisingly, it didn't come until the 25th minute.

Having maintained their territorial advantage, the pack demonstrated their dominance with a scrum five metres out.

Hooker Grant Rayner secured the ball as his forward drove over the line for number eight Josh Edwards to touch down.

Male was unable to convert in the difficult, windy conditions.

Halstead where quick to reply with a converted try.

Centre Craig Wilson then proved the difference going into the turnaround as he produced a strong individual run to create a rare break in the defensive line to power through and ground the ball for another unconverted try.

Harwich's fragile lead was soon a distant memory as they were court napping.

Halstead's 14 received the restart deep in his own half and, with another arching run, circumnavigated the defence to touch down for a converted try.

Shell-shocked Harwich found themselves paying the price for the big effort in the first half and their failure to convert into points as the tanks emptied.

Opponents Halstead were full of running and reversed the rolls as they turned the tables, becoming the aggressors as they camped in the opposition half, forcing them to dig deep to defend their line and put a string of last-ditch try-saving tackles.

Halstead were unable to breach the Harwich defence but did come away with three points for a penalty conversion.

With little time remaining, there was a final resurgence from a tiring Harwich side.

The late introduction of Joe France and Rob Wood raised spirits as they threatened.

Rob Wood went close, as did Mark Griggs on the wing, but it proved too little, too late to secure the win as time run out.

Tomorrow, Harwich are at Low Road for a friendly against Bancroft (3pm).