The Griffins and Hawks played out a glorious try-fest under the bright lights of Larkhill last Wednesday evening, with a grand total of twelve tries being run in over the course of the eighty minutes.
The Griffins started slowly as ever, with several members still navigating the A303 as the game kicked off. As is steadily becoming the norm for the Griffins, an early period of pressure on the opponent’s try line turned into a sombre trot back under their own posts as Hawks scored from distance. The Hawks took full advantage of their numerical advantage, swooping on turnover ball before running swift and surgical lines to expose gaps in the Griffins’ desperate fourteen man defence. Gliding under the posts four times in the first half an hour, and supported by accurate kicking from the tee, Hawks established early dominance and a 28-0 lead.
However, following the arrival of the Griffins’ fifteenth man, and triggered by a pacy line break from a Hawk on loan in Griffins’ pink on the wing, the game broke out into more even and competitive fare just before the break. As the speedy GriffHawk winger swallow-dived over the try line to score, there was sense of a change in the chill November air. Shocked by such vibrancy from the previously unthreatening men of Andover, the Hawks were caught off guard once more before the break as Maj Chris Griffith did his best impression of Faf de Klerk and plunged towards the Hawks line from a quick tap penalty. Hauled down with the try line at his mercy, he managed some deft prestidigitation to offload the ball to Capt Niall Pollinger to finish off this purple patch just before the half time. Conversion missed, but the teams changed ends at a respectable 28-10.
The second half was a considerably tighter affair, with each side scoring three tries apiece; the Hawks with typically blink-and you’d-miss-it long range flights of fancy. The Griffins were exploring all facets of their back-of-an-envelope gameplan. The routine: a blast over the line from close quarters from Capt Wayne Thorne after sustained forward dominance. The sublime: hooker Capt PJ Skinner showing an unexpected turn of pace from a front row forward to be the first man through to dot down a probing grubber kick. And finally, the ridiculous: Capt Pollinger’s second try of the day, an interception from halfway ending with a try and emergency cramp treatment in the dead goal area. Your humble author even managed to turn back the years and dance his way through a handful of tackles on one particularly uncharacteristic trot, before reverting to type and throwing a beautiful one handed offload to absolutely no one.
In the end, the Hawks’ strong start proved an insurmountable obstacle for the Griffins to overcome, and as the final whistle chirped, Hawks ran out victors to the tune of 43-27. The Griffins can take some solace in the considerably closer try count of seven tries to five, and the kit man will ensure that a kicking tee makes an appearance at the next fixture against 5 RIFLES in the ARU KO Cup. Finally, a huge debt of gratitude is owed to the rotating cast of rapid and nimble Hawks wingers generously provided to the Griffins throughout the course of the match.
Match report provided by Maj William Melia
