Halstead fall to 6-try Sudbury

Sudbury v Halstead Templars, two towns close to one another on the Essex/Suffolk border, Halstead, population 11,000 but only two surnames and Sudbury, home to those who congratulate one another with a high six.

This eagerly awaited encounter drew not only a fair visiting crowd made up of brothers and sisters but a large contingent of players available to Halstead which has been suffering all season with a long injury list.

Halstead kicked off and immediately took the game to Sudbury but despite this early pressure Sudbury broke free and roared to the other end and scored their first try. Undeterred by this early setback Templars went on the attack again and were awarded a penalty which was duly converted by Jack Pawsey.

Again Templars continued to put pressure on the Sudbury defense, but once again the play broke down, Sudbury broke free and aided by some poor tackling from Halstead and some good handling - possibly abetted by the able six fingers of Sudbury’s backs - allowed another try.
Finally after 17 minutes Templars hit back with a try from Ed Pawsey making the score 12:8 to Sudbury.

Halstead could sense the game was within their grasp, and Templars' Will Levett caught the ball in his own half and ran 40 yards before going down in a heap of desperate Sudbury bodies.

The game ebbed from end to end and some good tackling by the Halstead defenders kept Sudbury at bay, at times the match risked boiling over highlighting the intensity between the two sides. Unfortunately just before halftime Sudbury broke through the Halstead lines and scored their third try making the halftime score 19:8 to the hosts.

Templars coach Neil Prentice, affectionately know in Bavaria as Panzer, might need to tweak his half time team talk because within five minutes of the restart Templar’s found themselves a further two trys down, suddenly the score was 29:8.

In 1958 Frank Sinatra recorded “Zing went the string in my heart”. Templars scrum half Ed Merry recorded his own version after 55 minutes with “ping went the string of my hamstring” as he was left in a heap by a builders hoarding having chased a forlorn kick into touch.
This summed up Templar’s afternoon and miserable season so far, a team littered with injuries with another player out for sometime. However, despite this further setback Brett Ballard, who had moved to scrum half, scored a late try for Halstead showing that there was still fight left in the visitors.

Regrettably for Halstead the fight was still in Sudbury too as the hosts then scored their final try two minutes later to make the final score 34:13.

Herr Panzer summed up the defeat accepting that the long injury list was largely to blame for this seasons poor start. He also questioned whether conscription could be introduced in Halstead and surrounding area to boost his depleted squad similar to that of the British army in 1916.

Next week the Templars first aid kit gets a rest as they hope for healed bodies to be available for the visit of Ipswich, who are also 0-4 so far this season, on the 19th.