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Haringey Rhinos 1st XV versus West London Cowboys 23rd of January 2010
Haringey Rhinos gathered for the game on Saturday after a long enforced layoff which had seen them not play a game for over five weeks exasperated further by having limited time to train with no thanks to the snow. Haringey have now reached the half way point this season and having played all of the teams in the league Coach Rubert Jonker pointed out to the team that there is no one to fear within this league and that there are 22 points out there for us to collect in the second half of the season. With this in mind the Rhinos made their way onto the pitch ready to lay out a marker by avenging the narrow defeat to the league leaders that we had suffered at home earlier in the season. The game began at a relatively slow pace with both teams clearly a little rusty and feeling out the ability of the opposition. It quickly became clear to the Rhinos that although being a smaller pack the energy and speed with which they were able to hit the breakdowns and pick and drive the ball from the ruck made quick gains in ground. However West London quickly hit back as the ball was passed through their backs and steady ground was made into the Rhinos 22 where a dubious offside penalty against the Rhinos was simply converted by West Londons scrum half. Score 3-0. From the kick off the Rhinos forward pack tore into their opposition, Rhinos domination of the lineout was absolute with Ally Hewitt and Rob Handley in imperious form on both their own and opposition lineouts. The rolling maul which has been so effective for Haringey all season continued to prosper with the pack continuously making ground up the pitch. It wasnt long before the Rhinos were camped on the opposition line. Pick and drive after pick and drive eventually led to Dom Gains crashing over, however his celebrations were short lived when the referee ruled that he had run into his own man. Shortly after the subsequent scrum however West London gave away another penalty allowing Gareth Jones to coolly slot the kick over. Halftime Score 3-3. The second half began in much the same way with few attacking forays being offered by either team, Haringey clearly suffering from the current lack of backs available looked disjointed and struggled to get enough phases together. This was worsened when talismanic player/coach Rubert Jonker was forced to leave the field with a suspected broken foot leading to flanker Gareth Evans, playing his first full game in nearly three years being moved to outside centre. Play became even more disrupted and thanks to the continued chat-back from both teams leading to the referee getting both frustrated and confused with several calls. The game abruptly sprang into life when the West London 10 was too slow with a clearance kick ball leading to the kick being charged down, the ball was scooped up by Skipper Matt Brown and quickly fed out to the backs with John Mcdevitt piercing through the West London line. Desperate West London defence in their own 22 led to a penalty being given away which was duly converted by Gareth Jones making amends for an earlier miss. Score 6-3. Haringey, now playing with their tails up decided to play the game in West Londons half, constantly kicking deep into the opposition territory over and again in order to force West Londons hand. However from a scrum in the West London 22 Number 8 Dom Gains received a heavy dead leg leading to him having to leave the field and be replaced by Felix Jakens in the unfamiliar position of No.8. West London seized on this further disruption to the Haringey team and started to attack with several pick and drives being poorly defended by Haringey. However once within the Haringey 22 there was some resolute defence by the Rhinos with some real passion and grit shown by the team as they smashed the opposition back over and over again. Then with just a couple of minutes left on the clock the referee penalised a mystified Rhinos player for offside at the ruck. The West London kicker made no mistakes and levelled the scores. Score 6-6. The Rhinos attempts to make amends were hampered when scrum half Jade Murphy received a nasty injury. His subsequent withdrawal forced Rhinos into playing the last two minutes with only 14 men before the referee blew the final whistle. Final Score 6-6 The Final Score of 6-6 was a disappointing one for the Rhinos who felt that they should have had the win, however confidence was taken from the fact that the team had been able to dominate the league leaders and the Rhinos must surely now feel that the rest of the season is theirs for the taking. On a separate note the injuries to both Rubert Jonker and Jade Murphy which both looked relatively long term leaves the Rhinos desperately short of backs, therefore we must try and recruit as many backs, both new and old, down to training as possible in order for us to fulfil our potential this season. The last mention must go to the man of the match, with several people within the pack standing up to be counted including Cameron Howson playing admirably in the unfamiliar position of front row and a typically robust performance from Ali Hewitt, however the clear winner was Gareth Evans who worked tirelessly at the ruck despite his lack of game exposure in recent times whilst also helping to tighten up the defence in the backs when moved to the unfamiliar position of 13. Haringey Rhinos 1st XV versus Hitchin RFC 28th November 2009-11-30 After five consecutive defeats, and a couple of weeks of cancelled fixtures Haringeys finest were feeling enthusiastic about the coming game. The past two weeks had been busy even without match fixtures with plenty of numbers turning up for some well thought out training sessions courtesy of new coach Rubert Jonker. As has been the situation throughout the year, many regular back line players were missing due to injuries. The chosen few filling their boots were defiantly up for the task. The game began with Haringey taking a firm hold of the tiller and steering the play very much so in their favour. Hitchin with a much larger pack had the edge in the scrum. The Rhinos mobile forwards were able to dominate the lineout with Pat Hawkes and Rob Handles collecting plenty of balls as well as taking a couple of the oppositions throws. Veteran back row Mike Hasse and in-form number 8 Cameron Howson were securing good ball at the breakdown. The Rhinos first score came in the 15th minute thanks to John McDeviant finishing a well executed series of back play that came off a storming mid-field run by Mike Hasse. Full back Gareth Jones missed the conversion but later added 3 points after a well struck penalty goal The pressure was kept firmly on by the Rhinos with valiant attempts at cracking the oppositions line. Missed chances came when speedy winger John Mcdevit was beaten to the chase after a clever chip over Hitchins line by fly half Alan Cooper and by James Forrest-Lines on the other wing being just held up over the line after making a dangerous break up the touchline. Somewhat coming off the boil in the final 10 minutes, Haringey allowed Hitchin back into the game after their prop scored a try from a driving mall. Haringeys indiscipline at the breakdown had enabled Hitchin to kick the ball into the corner and set up the try scoring position. Another infringement provided hitchin with an attempt at three points before half time. Half time score Rhinos 8 - Hitchin 5 Hitchin carried on the second half as they ended the first with this time a successful penalty kick within a couple of minutes and then another, albeit off target, minutes after that. A larger blow was dealt to Haringey after Hitchin cruised through poor defence to allow Hitchins forwards take another 5 points and an easy conversion. The Rhinos now fully awakened hit back immediately with Mike Hasse scoring in the corner with a try that was almost a carbon copy of Hitchins first try. The game was looking like it could be close. Unfortunately for the Rhinos, Hitchin once more managed to sneak in another score after their scrum half took advantage of Haringeys lack of concentration with a quick tap and go from a penalty. This was the beginning of a torrid 30 minutes for the Rhinos who were battling against the wind and slope, coping with injuries and trying to chase an ever increasing lead. Hitchin capitalised on Rhinos many mistakes scored a flood of points with the final score ending at 13 points to 46 in favour of Hitchin Final score Haringey Rhinos 13 Hitchin 46 Special mention must go to Mike Hasse who was unanimously voted man of the match by the players and the club waves a sad farewell to Rhinos legend Alan Cooper who retires from regular first team rugby. Kilburn Cosmos vs Haringey II. 31st October 2009 It was a perfect Halloween afternoon for fast, free flowing rugby, as the Haringey Badgers made the short trip by coach to Kilburn, for what was a crucial encounter. The two sides separated in the league by one place and just one point. This was a must win game for both sides. Haringey kicked off and after a few exchanges of possession, conceded an early try. A speculative high ball from the Kilburn outside half was allowed to bounce and with some frightening defending, let the Kilburn winger, run through and cross the whitewash. Conceding an early try has been a huge problem for Haringey this season, as every game home and away, has started with the badgers trailing in the first few minutes and is a huge ghost that needs laying to rest. Most of the rest of the first half was spent in the Badgers half, the defence was solid with some monstrous tackling, but the attacking was limited to a few flurries up the wing by stand out back, Oli Bowden. The half ended with Haringey again penalised for some mild indiscipline, with Kilburn taking the 3 points and the score at 8-0. The 2nd half started much as the first, with the Badgers still haunted by their inability to start strongly, let Kilburn run in a second unconverted try. Another disputable penalty allowed Kilburn to extend their lead to 16 points. This seemed to be the wake up call the Badgers needed and with some slick passing from number 10, Matt Pert, saw both centres, Gareth Jones and Gareth Davies, breaking some lines and gaining some good territory. From this the forwards put together a number of solid phases, which allowed number 8, Cameron Howsen, the chance to dive over in the corner. The tempo had been upped a number of notches and after some heroic defending on the haringey try line, came the move of the match. A clean ball won at the lineout by Gabriel Masset, 5 yards from his own try line, set up a driving maul by the resurgent Haringey pack close to the touch line. The ball was then dispatched to the backs and swiftly passed through nearly every pair of hands on the Badgers side whilst galloping up the pitch, giving forward of the day, Cameron Howsen the opportunity to score between the posts and then audaciously convert his own try. The final 10mins was all Haringey, Gareth Davies was put through by Matt Pert and with the try line beckoning, was called back for a very debatable forward pass. More Badgers pressure was subdued when scrum half, Dave Ouda, was harshly sin-binned for killing the ball at the ruck. The final minutes were played out with 14 men and however hard they tried, the Badgers just could not cross for the winning try. Haringey Badgers should have had a Halloween treat, but instead got dealt a trick that left a ghastly taste in their mouths. Final score. Kilburn Cosmos 16-12 Haringey II. Hamptonians RFC v Haringey Rhinos RFC London Division 3 North West Round 4 10 October 2009 Beautiful blue skies in semi-rural Hampton welcomed Haringey Rhinos, in week four of their London 3 NW season.The team arrived in good time and were soon shaking off the long bus journey with a dynamicwarm-up under the watchful eyes of new coaching team Tim Hutchins and Rubert Jonker.Jonker, frustrated at still not being able to play due to the postal strike delaying his club registration, duly put the guys through their paces, getting them focused for the game ahead. And clearly the new approach worked, as the Rhinos came flying out of the blocks, knocking Old Hamptonians out of their stride from the off. A number of forays up-field by the tight forwards led to winger Tom Vass brilliantly side-stepping his way past his marker before accelerating away fromthe chasing OH defence, to touch down for the games first try. Fullback Gareth Jones converted his kick, putting the Rhinos 7-0 up after just 6 minutes. The Rhinos continued to dominate, and were working the ball patiently through phases. Apart fromthe occasional dropped pass, the team was executing its training park drills with aplomb, and were steadily building momentum. On the quarter-hour mark, the OH defence was unable to repel the waves of phased attacks, and in-form fly half Jade Murphy finished off a fantastic move, side-stepping his way through the defensive line to score the games second try. 12-0 to the Rhinos.A short period of patchy play followed, as OH defended doggedly, led by their no.8 who wasconsistently winning good ball on the ground, and expertly spoiling a lot of Rhinos possession.On 23 minutes, Rhinos old boy-returned Ali Hewitt was again in the right place at the right time, ashe powered through the home defence to touch down for try number three, push the Rhinos 17-0 ahead.With 5 minutes of the half remaining, Rhino legend and club talisman Alan Cooper found himselfon the wrong side of a ruck, and the ref showed him the yellow card. This was the first time in Coopers long and illustrious career that he had spent time in the sin-bin, an experience hasimmediately swore never to repeat.As the clock ticked down towards the half time whistle, OH took advantage of their extra man,finding an overlap out wide, and touching down for their first try of the game. Half time score: Old Hamptonians 5 - Haringey Rhinos 17 Coach Hutchins and skipper Mat Brown used the half time huddle to urge the players to continue with their excellent defensive formations, while looking to support more in the midfield, where their powerful runners were making huge dents.And so it was in just the fifth minute of the half that fly half Murphy again jinked his way through the cover to touch down for his second try of the day, after some fantastic handling and support playfrom the forwards. 22-5 to Haringey. Old Hamptonians maintained their shape and looked to run the ball from their midfield whenever they had the opportunity, but the Rhinos defensive line kept its discipline and shape, and repelled each attack with some shuddering tackles.In-form winger John Utah McDevitt was next to benefit from another sweeping Rhinos move,when on 55 minutes he latched on to a great pass from inside and raced away from the cover to score out wide. Mirroring the first half there followed a short period of silly mistakes from both sides, which saw Haringey receive their second yellow card, this time for skipper Brown, who was judged to have entered a ruck from the side. Immediately upon losing their skipper, the Rhinos conceded their second and final try, which rather flatteringly for the home side, pulled the score back to 27-12 with a quarter of an hour left to play. But the Rhinos were in no mood to concede any more of their lead, and having moved their bearded no.8 Cameron Howson up to hooker while skipper Brown saw out his 10 minutes in the bin, the Rhinos successfully defended every attack.And within minutes of returning to a full complement, Haringey rounded-off a good performance in fitting fashion at the hands of the impish Cooper, who swerved and shimmied his way through a number of would-be tacklers to touch down under the posts. No.8 Howson showed his versatilityby successfully slotting a drop-kick to conversion. Final score: Old Hamptonians 12 - Haringey Rhinos 34Rhinos scorers:Tries: Tom Vass, Jade Murphy (2), Ali Hewitt, John McDevitt, Alan Cooper Cons: Gareth Jones, Cameron Howson Players of the Day: A number of players produced big game performances on Saturday. Fly half Jade Murphy had a stormer, as did older brother Alan Cooper, who keeps rolling back the years indeed there were times during the game that it looked like a Bradley Brothers exhibition match! Skipper Mat Brown again led by example with some rampaging runs and great leadership, and flankers Felix Jakens and Sam Feek were both conspicuous with their work rate. But player of the day went to big-hitting,drop-kicking, beard-wearing No.8 Cameron Howson, who shone in only his second outing in his new position. Haringey Rhinos:15. Gareth Jones, 14. Tom Vass, 13. Mark Brassey, 12. Alan Cooper, 11. John McDevitt, 10. Jade Murphy, 9. Paul Fletcher (Rondel Bernard), 8. Cameron Howson, 7. Felix Jakens, 6. Sam Feek, 5.Rob Handley, 4. Ali Hewitt, 3. Daniel Thompson, 2. Matt Brown (capt.), 1. Tom Burrows 1st XV v Bank Of England, 26/09/09 Limited player availability forced the 36-year-old to roll back the years in Roehampton, and he was soon rolling over the try-line after a driving maul to give Haringey the lead. BOE responded with a score in the corner, but the home side's prop was then banished to the sin-bin for tripping Jade Murphy, who was trying to take a quick penalty. Unfortunately, Rhinos were unable to turn their superior numbers into points, but they did extend their lead before the break when Daniel Thompson scored his second try in successive matches, briefly making him the side's leading try-scorer. After a scrappy first half, the Rhinos initially continued to struggle after the break, but Matt Brown broke BOE's resistance - and the corner flag - when he forced his way over in the corner. Several good phases from the Rhinos forwards followed, and Tom Armer was next to get on the scoresheet when he went over between the posts, with Gareth Jones kicking the conversion. But BOE refused to lie down, and a penalty left them within a converted try of levelling the scores. A poor set-piece from the Rhinos then proved costly as BOE scored in the corner, and Haringey were suddenly in danger of throwing away the points. However, the Blues were unable to make the most of their constant pressure, and John McDevitt sealed the win with his second try in as many games, taking him level with Thompson in the scoring charts, and Jones again added the conversion. Final Score Haringey 29 - BOE 15 Haringey Rhinos: Burrows, Brown, Thompson, Hewitt, Handley, Hutchins, Feek, Howson, Murphy, Gray, McDevitt, Armer, Thompson, Watkinson (Fletcher), Jones. Rhinos 1st XV vs Old Streetonions - 19/09/09 The Haringey Rhinos welcomed league newcomers Old Streetonions to White Hart lane on Saturday, with the goal being to get the first win of season 2009/10 on the books and establish the home park as Fortress Haringey for the fixtures to come. But in Sunny conditions and with a big home crowd in attendance, it unfortunately wasn't to be. From the kick off a mobile Haringey pack came out of the blocks firing, turning over ball straight from the start and putting Old Streetonions on the back foot within their own 22 metre line as the weathered consistent attacks from the Haringey pack. Returning lock Ali Hewitt was an imposing figure in the lineout providing a target for mauling drives at the set piece and hampering th oppositions ability to winb their own ball. A resulting lineout from a penalty was turned into one of these attacks, a break and an offload bringing Daniel Thompson crashing over the line for his debut 1st XV try. The conversion was missed and game stayed in the opposition 22 unfortunately with no more points forthcoming. A number of close chances went begging, Jack Watkinson superbly finishing a try against the run of play in the corner that went unconverted as the first half drew to a close. 1st half HRRFC - 10 OS -15 Impact from the bench brought the Rhinos within 5 points at 20-15 but again the Old Streetonions defense was impenetrable and with the visitors starting to turn ball at the set piece time ran out and a dissapointed Rhinos were left rueing missed chances against a very beatable opposition. Final Score: OS 20 - 15 HRRFC br> Next week sees the team travelling away to play the Bank of England and get the season back on track Man of the match: Daniel Thompson following a strong performance at the scrum and with the ball in hand capped off by a debut try Haringey Badgers vs Ealing Exiles 19th September 2009 The day had longingly anticipated, after a tough preseason and an equally difficult team selection for the first match of a promotion chasing season. The badgers couldnt have asked for a better day the sun was shining the fans and WAGS where out in anticipation of a double heading at White hart lane. After much talk the game kicked off and with Haringey starting a little sheepishly Ealing come out storming with a try from their stand out player at 13. The badgers regrouped under the posts with some well chosen words from maiden skippers Gareth and Matt, which seemly get the boys firing with 3 unanswered tries from debutants LUKE HAYES, RANDEL and long stranding scrumhalf DAVID OUDA. Half time Haringey Badgers 17 Ealing Exiles 5 Even with the lead in hand Haringey where not happy and more was expected which is exactly what was given with a number of substitutions being made. Further tries followed with a number of free flowing tries centring on stand out back of the day GARETH BLADES who went the length of the pitch for his debut try and some great hands in the 22 to set up TOM VASS for the easiest of finishes. 5 minutes later and another great piece of play sent in captain GARETH JONES for a well worked try from their own half. To finish off the game FELIX (Cheshire) crossed after some great impact work by the forwards. Knowing the game was in the bag Haringey took their foot off the gas and conceded two needless tries to leave the badgers with work to do in training. Full Time Haringey Badgers 37 Ealing Exiles 15 A decent result for the Badgers all in all and fantastic for the boys to get the victory which was well deserved but many things to work on. There was some fantastic work from a dominant pack and it was another debutant JAMES NEARY playing only his 2nd game of rugby who took all spoils as man of the match. Haringey Rhinos 1st XV versus Old Ashmoleans 1st XV Saturday 12th September The competitive league kicked off with a North London derby against league rivals Old Ashmoleans at Ashmoleans home ground Firs Farm. The Rhinos had had a tough pre-season of tough fitness training under new head coach and ex player Tim Hutchins. With several regular 1st team players away for the weekend the Rhinos starting XV had a distinctly exotic flavour with several new faces including Rhinos debutante Felix Jankens at number 6 and a number of returning pilgrims who may have strayed from the Rhinos way last season. The Squad was to be skippered today by newly elected club captain and Rhinos legend Alan Cooper. The game began with the Rhinos struggling to find their pace and in the first 20 minutes of some scrappy play Ashmoleans ran in two converted trys for a 14 point lead. Not to be outdone, the Rhinos upped their game beginning with an earthshaking tackle put in on the opposition Number 8 by hard hitting second row Cameron Howson. This forced a crucial turnover that was capitalised upon by dynamic back row Dom Gaines who stormed through the opposition defence. For the next 10 minutes the Rhinos kept the pressure on finally reaching the opposition 22 where an opportunistic blind side move off a ruck saw the ubiquitous Dom Gaines float a sweet pass to wing Vusi Mudluli who scored in the corner with 5 minutes of the half to go. Fly half Alan cooper added the 2 points with a well struck kick at goal. Unluckily for the Rhinos a lucky bounce from an up and under from Ashmoleans saw Alan Cooper forced back over the Rhinos own goal line after collecting the ball. Cooper was unable to fend off two attackers and was stripped of possession and Ashmoleans scored a third try just before the whistle Half time score Old Ashmoleans 21 Haringey Rhinos 7 The second half began with Ashmoleans pressuring the Rhinos line, however, the defence held with Ashmoleans eventually opting to take a three point drop goal curtsey of the steady boot from their fly half. Strait away the Rhinos hit back with a try from John McDevit who capitalised on a fumble in the Ashmoleans centre to run in a superb 50 meter try. Cooper added the conversion with the scores sitting at 24-14 to Ashmoleans For the next 25 minutes the game was scoreless with both sides upping the intensity. The Rhinos were unlucky with two injuries in this period to try scorer Vusi Mudluli and impact runner Dom Gaines. With only 10 minutes left of the game Ashmoleans made a couple of breaks into the fragmented Rhinos line scoring two more trys. The Rhinos never a team to give up made plenty of forays into the opposition half nearly scoring twice but sadly, nearly was not quite enough. Final score Old Ashmoleans 38 Haringey Rhinos 14 Man of the match goes to Gareth Jones who at fullback did everything that was asked of him in defence, was faultless under the high ball and took the game to the opposition in attacking play. Cameron Howson gets special mention for his abrasive contesting of the breakdown and power in the tackle. Finchley RFC v Haringey Rhinos RFC Pre-season trial 5th September 2008 On Saturday, Haringey Rhinos completed their preparation for the 2009-10 campaign, with a pre-season warm-up match away to local rivals Finchley. New coaches Tim Hutchins and Rubert Jonker were keen to try new players and combinations in advance the 1st XV's first league game next week, and the 2nd XV's the week after. And with a travelling squad of 36 to choose from, the new coaching team was given plenty of scope. In front of a large crowd enjoying the autumn sun, the Rhinos took to the field looking to capitalise on two months of fitness training, and lay down an early marker for the season. Early exchanges were characteristically messy for a trial game, as both sides struggled to find their rhythm. Some basic errors and poor communication across the Rhinos XV led to two quick tries to the home side, but the Rhinos fought back well, with a try from dynamic second row Pat Hawkes. 1st quarter score: Finchley 2 tries - Haringey Rhinos 1 try Haringey Rhinos XV: 1. Tom Pert, 2. Mat Brown, 3. Daniel Thompson, 4. Ali Hewitt, 5. Pat Hawkes, 6. Cameron Howson, 7. Sam Feek, 8. Adrian Gilbertson, 9. Dave Shaw, 10. Jade Murphy, 11. John McDevitt, 12. Rondel Bernard, 13. Anton, 14. Vusi Mdluli, 15. Ollie Wollaston Despite starting the second quarter with 14 changes from the first, the Rhinos started quickly and looked to take the game to Finchley. But again, a failure to communicate in defence left the Rhinos too tightly bunched in some areas, and too thinly spread in others, and the home side capitalised on the poor positioning to score two tries. The Rhinos bounced back though, and responded with a touch down from ever-present flanker Cameron Howson after a number of strong forays up field from the pack. 2nd quarter score: Finchley 2 - Haringey Rhinos 1 Haringey Rhinos XV: 1. Tony Chadwick (James Neary), 2. Pedro Almeida, 3. Tim Salter, 4. Ali Hewitt, 5. Gabriel Masset, 6. Cameron Howson, 7. Felix Jakens, 8. Dylan Tibbs, 9. David Ouda, 10. Matt Pert, 11. Chris Snell, 12. Christo, 13. Ollie Bawden, 14. Jack Watkinson, 15. Gareth Jones More changes for the third quarter saw a number of new faces and combinations take to the field. This quarter was played mostly in the middle of the park, as solid defence from both sides nullified each anothers attacks. As the clock ticked down, it looked like the quarter would end scoreless, but in the dying minutes the home side put together a number of phases and moved the play up field, which resulted in a late try. 3rd quarter score: Finchley 1 - Haringey Rhinos 0 Haringey Rhinos XV: 1. Tom Burrows (Damon Rodney), 2. Mat Brown, 3. Jacque, 4. Pat Hawkes, 5. Gabriel Masset, 6. Paul OMalley, 7. Sam Feek, 8. Dylan Tibbs, 9. Dave Ouda, 10. Jade Murphy, 11. Stephen Foran, 12. Christo, 13. Anton, 14. Joe Gurney, 15. Gareth Jones The final quarter was the most exciting of the day, with the Rhinos' demanding pre-season fitness regime bearing fruit, as they ran-in four unanswered tries. It had taken the previous 60 minutes for Haringeys forwards and backs to find their rhythm and begin linking and interchanging properly, but when it finally clicked, they were able to dispense with the tiring Finchley XV with ease. Fly half Jade Murphy grabbed two sniping tries, Cameron Howson grabbed his second of the day, while second row Ali Hewitt, returning to the Rhinos after three seasons away, scored the day's most memorable try, starting and ending a move that swept 60 meters up field. The move was sadly spoilt by a ball-kissing incident at the hands of the try scorer, that will long live in the minds of the Rhinos shocked spectators! 4th quarter score: Finchley 0 - Haringey Rhinos 4 Haringey Rhinos XV: 1. Tom Pert, 2. Tony Chadwick, 3. Daniel Thompson, 4. Ali Hewitt, 5. Cameron Howson, 6. Felix Jakens, 7. Pat Hawkes, 8. Adrian Gilbertson, 9. Dave Shaw, 10. Jade Murphy, 11. John McDevitt, 12. Rondel Bernard, 13. Chris Snell (Christo), 14. Vusi Mdluli, 15. Ollie Wollaston Final score: Finchley 5 - Haringey Rhinos 6 Winning the day 6 tries to 5 against a club who plays one league above, was a good afternoons work for the Rhinos, particularly given the high number of new players being introduced over the four quarters. But there remains work to be done on defence, where holes opened-up too obviously in places where there should have been none, and communication also requires some swift attention. But these are issues that the coming weeks' training will iron-out, and overall, the new Hutchins/Jonker coaching team was more than happy with their squad's display. Player of the day: Every member of the 36-man squad stepped-up and did themselves justice, with solid performances throughout. The three rugby novices Paul O'Malley, James Neary and Stephen Foray, all took their first steps in competitive rugby, and looked more than capable of holding their own as the season unfolds. A few players in particular impressed with their work rate, notably Cameron Howson, Pat Hawkes, Sam Feek and Jade Murphy. And new centres Rondel Bernard, Christo and Anton all showed powerful running and solid defence, and look set to make a big imapct in the green Rhinos jersey this season. As did club stalwart Tom Pert whose switch from wing to prop may prove inspired. Powerful no.8 Adrian Gilbertson showed flashes of what the Rhinos faithful have come to expect from him, while nippy winger Vusi Mdluli showed a turn of pace and side step that will make him one to watch. But the one player who stood out most was returning second row Ali 'Ball-kisser' Hewitt, who despite his amorous entanglements with the ball, played with pace, power, vision and a calm head all afternoon. |
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