Combe’s winning streak continues but it was tough defence that won the day. Westcombe Park dominated the opening proceedings and Hawks' attempts to relieve the pressure wasn’t helped by a mis-firing line-out. This was exacerbated by a reduction in personnel when a collapsed scrum resulted in a yellow card for the home side.

Twenty-five minutes had elapsed when the visitors took the lead from a line-out on the Henley 22m line. A good take was then driven towards the line for the score by prop Sam Kenny . The conversion by Nathan Wyman made it 0-7. It took only a couple of minutes for Combe to extend the lead. Again it was a catch and drive on the right side and this time Naj Mundicha was the scorer. The conversion kick went awry but Combe were twelve points to the good. The Hawks made their first incursion into the Combe half just short of the half hour mark underlining the visitors’ territorial dominance but play overall was scrappy and the half ended with no further scores.

Fifteen minutes into the second period Henley got on the scoreboard with an unconverted try, a line-out once more proving the vehicle. Play see-sawed back and forth and it was Henley that narrowed the gap from a penalty in front of the Combe posts to make it 8-12 with around 15 minutes left. A missed Hawks’ penalty kept the score unchanged and when Westcombe Park went down to 14 players the pressure on the visiting defence increased. But the Combe defence held firm and despite going down to 14 players a second time as the final whistle approached the win was secured.

Local(ish) derby this week-end against old rivals Canterbury with added spice as it is 4th plays 5th place in the league and both sides are on winning runs.