Peterborough put Harbporough to the sword

Harborough travelled to Peterborough with the intention of causing an upset but came up against a side that on the day demonstrated why they have won the league by a big margin. The game started evenly, both sides showing attacking flair with Peterborough taking the lead through a penalty. Harborough Then suffered the first of a series of injuries on 13 minutes as Ethan Godefroy had to leave the field after a heavy collision, not helped by the hard ground. Within 2 minutes Peterborough extended their lead as they played a switch move and exploited the lack of cover to run in the first try. With Harborough determined to rotate their players on what was a hot day they introduced Fin Clarke hoping for some exciting play but sadly he only lasted 2 minutes before he suffered a potentially serious knee injury. Soon after Peterborough were awarded a penalty and a quick tap, taken nowhere near the mark, saw them cross the line once again to take their lead to 13-0. Harborough struck back and an excellent move saw Ed Parker tackled into touch inches from the try line. Soon after Michael Woodford stormed through only for a knock on to end the move. Peterborough were however taking their chances and a kick ahead and poor tackling allowed them to run in under the posts and with the conversion on the stroke of half time they led 20-0. The half time score may not have reflected the game but the second half saw Peterborough step up another gear and it was not long before their forwards showed their power to drive over, 27-0 and then a kick ahead with strength in numbers saw them extend their lead further to 34-0. The power of Peterborough’s pack was starving Harborough of the possession they craved although Fergus Clarke at scrum half was having a storming game combining with Woodford to release the backs when he could. This led to the first Harborough try as Fraser Harrop made an excellent break beating the defence and then releasing Parker to run over. Sadly Harrop then had to leave the field with a Hamstring injury and his flair and defensive qualities would be missed. Peterborough were showing that they had superior fitness and ran in another try to take the score to 41-5 and this became 48-5 soon after as they made scoring look all too easy. Parker was however showing that he is a force to be reckoned with, having made numerous try saving tackles he then showed attacking skill as he executed a chip and chase to run in under the posts and then converted his own try to reduce the deficit. Peterborough were however not finished and added 2 further tries to bring the final score to 58-12, the heaviest defeat that Harborough have suffered all season, albeit to a team who are deserved champions.