The players and coaching staff of Halsted Templars are getting ready to see in the new year with a smile of satisfaction, on a job well done over the last 12 months.

Whilst this season’s campaign is still underway, with the men-in-black sitting 13 points clear in top spot of Eastern Counties Division 2 (South) and moving into the Suffolk Cup quarter final, courtesy of winning the Suffolk Plate, the team can look back on what they’ve achieved in 2017 and be greatly pleased with their progress.

2017 began with a five-game winning streak. Two 1-point victories; away at Clacton and then Essex University, during which Cameron Ross racked up a hat-trick of tries, were intersected by some rather more dominant performances; beating Ipswich and then Bury at home, the latter by 38 points to 7, before travelling for the first time to Aldeburgh & Thorpeness and coming away with a 34 points to 7 victory and a second hat-trick for Ross.

Then a league loss to visiting Sudbury, 21-27. A surprise defeat, ending a run of nine league games unbeaten, but one that would keep the feet of the Templars firmly on the ground and refocus them for the conclusion of the season and games against the top two sides. The first was a visit to Thurston, top of the league and looking to seal the championship by beating Halstead. These games have never been easy to predict with the Templars taking the honours when they met earlier in the season, but losing both in the 2015/16 match ups.

An incredibly close game was sealed by Tom Partridge, crossing the line in the last moments to move the Templars into the driving seat 17-22 and it was enough to hold the would-be champions at bay. However, for the final league game of the season, Halstead would host Harwich, a side they had never beaten before, who would overtake Thurston if history held true and they beat Halstead.

Ross decided that form was more relevant than the history books and two lung bursting, length of the field tries, one in each half, gave the Templars a slender lead that needed a Brett Ballard penalty with two minutes to go, to record an historic victory and ultimately hand the title back to Thurston.

Thurston, Harwich and Halstead all finished the season having won 12 and lost 4 but bonus points and points differences would see Halstead in third despite having won three of the four encounters against the top two. They will have looked back on losses in the early part of the season against Ipswich and a very disappointing performance against Bury, which might have been the low point of the season, and maybe this was where the title was lost.

2017 continued in September where it left off in March. A four-game winning streak included the newly promoted Hadleigh, followed by Ipswich, Sudbury and Bury, laying to rest the demons of the 2016/17 losses. It wasn’t just the results of these games that showed a renewed Templars side but the margins of the victories. Winning by 14, 24, 34 and 45 respectively, here was a team with their sights set very high and willing to put opposition to the sword if the opportunity arose.

Once more, the unpredictability of the Thurston fixture threw a spanner in the works for the men-in-black. Thurston had played just one game when the two sides met, two concessions and one game abandoned accounting for their other results. Halstead turned up light in numbers but full of confidence, however Thurston defended like titans throughout the first period and Halstead only had 7 points to show for the 40 minutes they spent in the Thurston half. The home side were more clinical in the second period and came away with 15 points and the win. Travelling to Harwich the following weekend, the Templars needed to bounce back or potentially watch another season slip through their grasp.

Halstead needn’t have worried. Despite going 6-0 down their heads didn’t drop and three tries in the first half were followed by four in the second. This game also saw the debut for Sam Edwards. Despite only getting 20 minutes in the middle of the game, he set up a try, scored one himself and kicked two conversions, he would prove to be a very welcome addition to the club.

This then was the spring board for the final two months of 2017, with a league and cup double header against Felixstowe first in the diary. A comfortable 31-point win, which included no.8 Jordan Samuel slotting a conversion with five minutes to go, Halstead both maintained their position at the top of the table but also moved into the Suffolk Plate final, despite the ever-improving Felixstowe side putting up a spirited fight.

Then a trip to Colchester where, to the coach’s delight, everything clicked. The visitors only had three substitutes and lost one during the warm-up, however, the hosts were treated to a huge 3-51 drubbing, with four of the five ex-Colchester players getting on the scoreboard against their old team. An even bigger win followed at home the following weekend when a depleted Ipswich travelled to Halstead and went home having conceded 64, including a Matt Harwood hat-trick.

December saw Halstead’s first appearance in a final and a chance to win silverware which they did not let go begging. Mildenhall had beaten them on the previous cup encounter but neither team resembled those who met last time. Halstead, rampant, were scoring at better than a point per minute until the conclusion of the first half and Mildenhall had no answers. Halstead ran out 5-55 winners scoring seven tries in the process, including an unexpected brace for skipper Adrian Illingworth and a hat-trick, this time for Edwards, who recorded a personal haul of 26 points.

Heads down for league duty the following weekend and, away at local rivals Sudbury, Halstead once more ran in seven tries, conceding only one, to win a somewhat scrappy game 7-43 and finish 2017 on a six-game win streak.

In 2017 Halstead have played 20 league and cup games winning 18. At home they scored, on average, 37.6 points per game, conceding 11.7. Away; 33.5 for and 12.5 against. They’ve scored 108 tries but perhaps more impressively, they have scored 79 of those in this season’s 12 games. That’s nearly double the rate at which they scored the other 29 in the final 8 games of the 2016/17 season despite having lost pace-man Ross who opted for a year travelling.

Halstead didn’t actively recruit in the off season however they welcomed new players to the fold regardless of their rugby background. Some of these new additions have made an immediate impact whilst others are still learning their trade. 2017 saw prop Simon Knight join the team along with locks Dan Bennett and Rob Coster, a position where, despite having England Deaf International, Ivan Fellowes, the Templars have not been spoiled for options.

At scrum-half, Liam Surgett has had a huge impact, scoring half a dozen tries since arriving but setting up twice as many. Edwards, averaging more than 12 points per game and Sam Gump Forrest in the centres have given the Templars selection headaches, with outstanding performances every match.

Injury has held back hooker Jamie Townsend, Jack Pawsey at fly-half and Joe Harrison in the centres, whilst Steve Holland in the front row and Nathan Joseph on the wing are just waiting for their chance to get into the action.

If anyone would like to try their hand at rugby in the new year, or if they’re thinking about returning to the game they loved, then you will always be welcome to come to training, from 7pm, every Wednesday at the Pit in Halstead. You can follow the team by signing up to their website at www.pitchero.com/clubs/halsteadtemplarsrfc and by following them on facebook.

Thank you for your support over the last 12 months. Here’s to a great 2018!