This weekend the Rhinos hosted second placed Hendon in what would end up being their most thrilling match of the season so far.

As instructed by coach Sinan, the meet time was slightly earlier than usual, and gave both the forwards and backs time to work on their set piece. Even Charlie Rigg managed to roll out of bed in time, smelling fresh, alcohol free and with a steely gaze of determination beaming from that potato shaped head of his. With the prep and team talks completed, a spirited Rhinos squad lined up to receive the kick.

The Rhinos knew Hendon would be a difficult side to face due to their recent league form, having racked up high amounts of points against most of their opposition. That said, the game began evenly with both defences being tested early, but neither side able to break through. Absorbing heavy hits up front, hooker Shane Ede took a slight knock to the knee and was replaced by Nik Abramishvili 15 minutes in.

Working from a solid platform, the deadlock was eventually broken when winger Gareth Terry Kirk pounced on a loose ball in the Hendon half, and fed Dan Thomas to touch down under the posts. Conversion by 'Go Hard Or Go Hugo Murray'. The game restarted and shortly after, Hendon replied with a try of their own. Some missed first up tackles allowed them to break through and score, conversion missed.

Buoyed by their try, Hendon then applied pressure and eventually gained a penalty just outside the Rhino's 22, which their kicker slotted. The Rhino's knew they needed to stay cool, some choice words from skipper Derry helped calm the ship. The referee, who was under assessment, seemed keen to find an example of every type of penalty he knew of. Hendon again slotting a penalty just outside the Rhino's 22.

Half time. The never aging Peter Pan of Haringey, Tony Chadwick, replaced by Shane Ede. James 'Prince of the Newbs' Purrington replaces Jared Robinson.

The second half began much like the first had ended, with both sides having a fair share of possession, and having to defend with big hits. The likes of Carl Brown delivered his trademark rib ticklers to his opposite number.

Hendon gained possession and after a number of phases, scored another try. The Rhino's knew they were up against it and began to up it from there on. With both sides feeling the pressure, cracks started to appear in Hendons defence.

Multiple offloads from backs and forwards concluded with Max Miles offloading to Charlie Rigg, who touched down and brought the scores closer. Conversion, bizarrely, charged down.

Straight from the kick off, the Rhino's received the ball and charged through the Hendon defence, again offloading and linking up well. The ball eventually found it's way into the vice like grip of Gareth Terry Kirk, who slid in for the Rhinos third try. Conversion by Murray.

After receiving the kick off and exchanging blows with the opposition, the physicality once again took it's toll. Fullback Hugo Murray left the field with an injury and was replaced by Dan Rycroft. A scrum near the middle of the pitch led to a Hendon attack, from which their centre wrong footed a couple of Rhinos and went in to score.

Still determined, the Rhinos mounted another attack, ending up in Hendons 22. Some loose defence saw Nik Abramishvili break three tackles and dive over the line. With 20 minutes to go, the Rhino's could see an upset on the cards. Brimming with confidence, and competing in the rucks, their solid work gained possession back from Hendon. Owain Luckwell and Tom Shirt created a partnership akin to that of two French lovers. Full of artistic flair and sex, they managed to move the ball out to Carl Brown who scored the Rhinos 5th try.

With just under 5 minutes to go, the Rhinos needed to hold their nerve to see out the game however the referee had other ideas.
Skipper Derry was judged to have kneed a Hendon player in the back. An uproar from the Hendon crowd and players, led to the referee consulting his assessor. Between them they decided to issue Derry with a yellow card, and awarded Hendon with a penalty just outside the Rhino's 22. With the Rhinos confused and scratching their heads at the decision, Hendon tapped the penalty, offloaded and scored the final try, converting to win the game, 31-29.

Despite the disappointing end to the game, the Rhino's can hold their heads high with the quality of their performance. Every man that put on a shirt gave their all, and put everything into the game. On another day the result would have gone in their favour, but some factors unfortunately are always uncontrollable. Special thanks to Sean Rees who gave his place on the bench to a late arriving Nik Abramishvili, allowing us to make an early front row replacement.

MoM - G Kirk
DoD - A Derry

Training is on this week as ever lads so get yourselves down. We've plenty to work on so let's get those heads right for Saturdays away trip to Feltham. For those that don't know, it will be Max Miles's final game for the red, white and green before he departs for Amsterdam. So come along for the trip and support the team if you're not involved this week. There will be an impromptu pub crawl/night out/boozey send off, get on it!

Haringey Rhinos RFC

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