A blustery afternoon saw Halstead Templars travel to Harwich for last Saturday’s Eastern Counties Division 2 clash. Harwich, sitting one place below the Templars, have been dominant in these fixtures, the Templars never having won at the seaside.

The Templars had suffered their first league defeat of the season away at Thurston and needed to bounce back to keep their season on track, but with history against them this was always going to be a tricky encounter.

In the wind, the lineout, which had not been firing on all cylinders over previous weeks looked solid. Craig Trevain and Steve Amass lifting Rob Coster high above his opposite number to gather Templar ball and disrupt the home sides throw ins. Ryan Rainer, eventual man-of-the-match, was throwing in for Halstead for the first time and regularly hit his mark. This attacking platform let the backs probe the Harwich defence early on.

Jack Beckinsale, playing at scrum-half and appearing for the first time this season, linked well with Liam Surgett coving the fly-half position. Surgett’s delayed passing drew the larger opposition defenders into a narrow channel and more than once this allowed centre Sam Forrest to race beyond his opposite man only to be brought down by the Harwich full-back.

However, despite these attacking thrusts, with the wind at their backs and playing with the slope, Harwich repeatedly cleared long to relieve the pressure. It was from a long clearance that Harwich gained the first foothold in the Templar half. Full back Ed Merry, usually solid under the high ball, knocked on inside his own 22 and, whilst the Templars disrupted the scrum, they conceded a penalty and the home side accepted the three points.

Harwich struck again moments later, again a Harwich set piece was disrupted, the quicker Halstead backs were up disrupting the passing and when Forrest dived on a loose ball he thought he had won the turnover, however, the referee deemed it a penalty and Harwich were 6-0 up.

It would have been easy for the Templars to have dropped their heads but this is a new Templar team and full of belief that the game was far from over, they went on a surging attack. The backs once more linked well with quick ball coming from Joe Harrison and centre partner Forrest to find Merry and Oli Cuthbert on the right wing. Merry drew his last man and fed Cuthbert who raced away but again the Harwich full-back brought down his man. From the ruck, the quick thinking Surgett spun out of the first tackle and dived over the line from close range. Harrison, not a regular place kicker, stepped up to land the conversion. 6-7.

Coster secured the restart and Callum Smith and Ben Bird drove the ball on before finding Phil Foster to carry the ball back to the half way mark. With the Harwich defence in disarray the ball was quickly spun to leading try-scorer Matt Harwood. His run, deep into the home team’s half looked like it might produce the second try but, having drawn the final man, he found Josh Donaldson, on for the injured Surgett, on his outside and unselfishly set the fly-half up for a score in the corner. Too wide for Harrison to add the extras the Templars now led 6-12.

The visitors now had their tails up and the backs knew that with good ball they had the pace on their opposite men. It didn’t stop Harwich kicking long, hoping for more mistakes at the back but Merry had found his catching mitts and Tom Ranson, on the left wing, appeared to have glue on his hands, holding everything Harwich could throw at him. Both would set off on strong runs and repeatedly found Rainer on their shoulder offering support.

From the Templars final attack of the half Donaldson spotted a gap behind the defence and chipped over for Beckinsale, Merry and Forrest to run onto. Beckinsale gathered and looked to be passing, when he was felled by the covering winger. However, Forrest was quickest to react, gathering the ball and finding the supporting Harwood who went over for the third try. Harrison back on target for 6-19.

Harwich had the final say of the half, charging back into Templar territory. Confusion at a ruck inside the Templar 22 meant both teams thought they had a penalty advantage but Harwich, in possession, remembered the old adage of ‘play to the whistle’ and the fly-half ran in unopposed. With an easy conversion, the scores at half time were 13-19.

The Templars knew that they now had the wind and slope in their favour, however, wholesale changes at half time meant that the back line had to get used to new playing partners with Surgett back on at fly-half and Donaldson moving to centre, Tom Amass replacing Ranson on the wing and Sam Edwards making his debut in the centre replaced Forrest.

What a debut it was, the next 10 minutes was all Harwich as the Templars struggled to find third gear however, Edwards tackled brilliantly in the midfield and with Smith and Bird keeping the hard-running Harwich back row in line, they didn’t gain a foothold in Templar territory. On the stroke of 50 minutes, with Harwich still looking strong and attacking well the ball fell to Amass junior on the left wing. With players bearing down on him he composed himself and kicked long. With the wind behind, the ball ended up deep in the Harwich half for a lineout.

This was the only invitation the Templars needed. Coster disrupted once more and from the attempted clearance the Templars turned the ball over, some quick hands through the backs and Edwards linked with Surgett to put him through for his second try and secured the bonus point for the men in black. Edwards then stepped up to take the kick to give Halstead a 13-26 lead.

Harwich still had some gas left in the tank and from the kick off attacked strongly up the right side. Despite both Cuthbert and Merry making solid tackles and cover coming quickly from Beckinsale and Surgett, excellent interplay from the Harwich backs resulted in the full-back ghosting over for a superb try. With the conversion Harwich edged closer, 20-26.

Amass senior and Merry were replaced by Aeron Stubbs and Steve Fellowes, the former was only on for a brief cameo as, ten minutes later the substitution was reversed thanks to a blow to the face, however, Stubbs had managed to steal a couple of scrums on his first go as hooker. Fellowes’ reading of the game was excellent and his link play with both Cuthbert and Amass junior meant that there was always support in both attack or defence.

The final 10 minutes was all Halstead. Harwich had not long lost their full-back to a yellow card for a second deliberate knock-on and the Templars didn’t waste this golden opportunity. Excellent interplay between the backs once more saw the ball make its way to Edwards, with both pace and power he found his way through to the line for the Templars fifth which he converted himself. It was his last involvement as he limped off with a job well done behind him. Templars now leading 20-33.

The already unassailable lead was expanded by Donaldson just two minutes later. Surgett finding him in space and Donaldson scything through the tiring defence for his second. Harrison, back on at flanker for the hard-working Foster, was unable to add the extras. 20-38.

It didn’t stay that way for long. From the restart Bird caught and carried powerfully through the onrushing Harwich line. Coster and Smith secured the ball before the dangerous backs launched an attack from the midfield. Stopped in the middle of the park, the visitors were awarded a scrum and the original front three drove home their advantage. With the scrum moving forwards, Harwood picked off from the back and ran wide, passing the two centres, before stepping back inside the covering fullback to run under the posts. Harrison opted for a drop goal attempt at the conversion with time running out, but missed well wide. 20-43.

With scant seconds on the clock, the Templars were awarded a penalty just inside the Harwich half. Donaldson, audaciously tapped to restart the clock and, with everyone watching expecting him to kick the ball off to end the game, he instead went for a long-range drop-goal, landing it squarely between the posts to cap a personal haul of 13 points and round the game of with Templars winning 20-46.

The Templars will host Felixstowe on Saturday 4th in a league and cup double header. The earlier 2pm kick-off at The Pit will see league points and a berth in the Suffolk Plate final go to the victor.