After last week’s rather disappointing draw at St Albans, this week saw 3rd play 5th as local rivals Old Millhillians arrived at Grove Field on the back of 4 consecutive league victories after a shaky start to the campaign.

Weather in the preceding days had seen a huge amount of rainfall on the pitch, but such is the quality of the playing surface at Harrow these days that underfoot conditions were nigh on perfect.
In fact the only challenge was the wind, which was blowing a gale down the length of the pitch and made trying to clear lines when playing in to it very demanding indeed.
OM’s won the toss and chose to play with the wind in 1st half, and so began the arm wrestle to take control of possession and territory, with OM’s using the conditions to push Harrow back, and Harrows forwards and backs combining to try and make headway against an ever strengthening wind.

With a number of changes across the team Harrow initially struggled to create any clear changes, but also were resolute in defence, and wasn’t until 15 minutes in that OM’s scored first, a scrum in front of the posts, No8 pick and feed and some simple hands saw the OM’s winger over in the right hand corner, conversion missed but OM’s 5-0 up on the board.
Harrow then suffered a game ending injury to captain Will Beech – dislocated shoulder – and terrible news for a player who has returned after a lengthy spell out previously- but we wish him a speedy recovery.

Harrow then earned a penalty in front of the posts, but with the strong wind the kick fell just short, but Harrow were starting to put some good phases of play together and OM’s weren’t making best use of the conditions.
Just before half time OM’s scored again when a well worked short line out allowed them to make inroads into the centre of Harrows midfield, and then out to wide left touchline. Harrow conceded a penalty and a quick tap and recycle saw OM’s over in the corner – conversion made and 12-0 heading into halftime, which given the conditions didn’t feel like a big enough lead.

Immediately from the 2nd half kick off OM’s were under pressure, Tom Hutton put a fabulous raking kick down the touchline and into touch, just outside the OM’s 22 , and despite repeated attempts they could not break out, and a fabulous turnover from Matt McKeown over on the right touchline won Harrow ball with OM’s defence in disarray.
Tom Hutton found Jez who found Santos, whose soft hands found Cieran Barry in a yard of space, no invitation needed, he was away and only a last ditch tackle saved a certain try, great support from Tom Hutton allowed the ball to stay live, and a fantastic pick up and drive from the base of the ruck by Jez saw him crash over for 5 well deserved points – great team try, and outstanding support play.
Ciaran O Sullivan nailed the conversion in difficult conditions, and Harrow now back within 5 with almost all of the second half to play.

Chances however were few and far between, and the game was allowed to become disjointed and fractious, with discipline on both sides not at the levels expected and a number of penalties, and a yellow card for each side meant any flow in passages of play was virtually non-existent.
With clock ticking towards full-time OM’s conceded a penalty between their 10 and 22, and Tom Hutton again found touch (just !!) on exactly the 5, some observers thought the kick had gone dead, but from fully 60 yards away it was clear that it was just inside the try-line and Harrow now had one last chance to salvage something from the match.
A short line-out saw Jamie Taffs find Baran at the front and an immediate pass back saw Taffs go over in the corner while simultaneously keeping both feet off the ground and therefore never in touch. Some agility from the hooker.

It now came down to one last kick from the touchline, and despite his best efforts in the conditions, the ball travelled narrowly wide from Ciaran’s boot – final whistle and a 12-12 result which probably neither side was enthused about.

Two points gained ? or two points lost ? – the usual half full/half empty conundrum remains, but again the post match feeling was one of letting an opportunity slip – but remembering that having now played everyone once there are no standout teams in the league, everyone is beatable – and Harrow will look forward to the second half of the season with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Player numbers growing, competition for places, clear structure on the field, and being executed more and more frequently and with a little more discipline in terms of penalties conceded they will run all teams hard in 2024. Onwards and upwards – a much better day out for all lunch goers and spectators alike, and the league now takes a break until 16th January when Saracens Amateurs are the visitors to Grove Field – Second team fixture next weekend ! (16th) details to follow,

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – and look forward to seeing more and more of you at Harrow in 2024.
Team: Cameron Grant ; Jamie Taffs ; Jeremy Itoje ; Will Beech (capt) ; Josh Raitamata; Baran Kendall; Matt McKeown ; Santos Rodriguez , Ciaran O Sullivan ; Tom Hutton ; Ben Hutton ; Dan McAvoy ; Tom Beech , Rorie Dunne; Cieran Barry, Leo Paoletti ; Billy Hutchinson ; Freddie Broomhead.