In the words of Lionel Richie (sort of) "Ooooohhhhh what a feeling, when the Lions defeat Ealing". (I've been waiting all season to use that).
Harrow Lions secured promotion from MT4 on Saturday with a comprehensive 5 try victory against Ealing Exiles in the play-off final at Ruislip RFC.
On a glorious lunchtime kick-off Lions arrived at Ruislip with a strong squad, and having rightly opted for youth and pace over experience, as has been the approach all season, were in a confident mood. An average age of 21.9 had only slightly been increased by the late inclusion of Pete Skyrme (62).
Ciaran O Sullivan was back at 9, and again had a mature performance , and his place kicking again was faultless , nailing all 7 of his attempts at goal, in challenging blustery conditions.
With Lavers as on field captain, his calm approach to all matters ensured that we stayed on the right side of the referee (who tbh had an excellent game), and was a real leader on the pitch that the rest of the pack (ave age 20) could follow.
Kicking off with the slight slope and a strong breeze, Harrow immediately put Ealing on the back foot, and with some excellent out of hand kick from Tom Hutton at 10 pinned Ealing into the bottom corner. From the resulting line-out penalty conceded, and Ciaran knowcked over the pen to put Harrow 3-0 ahead.
It was clear that the Harrow back line had slightly more pace than the Ealing back 3, and after 11 minutes a simple miss move created space for Tom Linden (*BFA) to go over, and round behind the posts.7 tries in his last 3 outings, and again showed a real mature performance way above his 19 years - hard to stop, hard to catch and hard in the tackle - a defenders nightmare - and he caused problems all day in the Ealing defence. Conv made (obvs), and Harrow now 10-0 ahead.
A period of play ensued where whilst in the ascendancy Harrow were unable to convert into points, and a 10-0 lead was probably not a reflection of the conditions, and a little bit of concern on the massed sidelines as to would the gap be enough if turned at half time only 10 ahead.
Fear not - 2 tries in the lat 3 minutes of the half, both scored by Tom L and converted by Ciaran meant that the gap widened - and Harrow reached the break with a healthy lead of 24 points to nil.
Ealing were not in the final by luck, and would clearly come hard in the second half, and the first score would be crucial - and with Lavers ral;lying call in his young charges ears Harrow got the second half off to the most incredible start. Breaking out from defence was David Reeder, and his inside pass found Tom L - who beat his man and put Will Moran into space and Harrow had gone from their own 22 to the edge of the Ealing 22 in a flash, offload in the tackle to Jamie Logan (who also had a great game) who carried up to the try line, before another off load in the tackle found Ted Skyrme in support, and he dived over to compete an 80 m move which had pace, handling and the watching crowd in absolute admiration for the style and quality of play. Conv made (obvs) and Harrow had made the decisive play of the match , stretching the lead to 31-0 and an element of breathing space.
Another penalty up the hill and into the wind increased the lead further to 34-0.
Ealing understandable came back strong, and 2 quick tries, both converted meant the gap was closed to 17 points - but time was running out, and Harrow defence against the conditions was holding relatively firm - strong performances in the back row by Dylan Carberry, Ted Skyrme and Jamie Logan - and some excellent tackling by Desmond Ogboru and Billy Hutchinson ensured that Harrows line was not breached again.
With clock ticking down , Harrow scored again, with a tap penalty being taken quickly, off load to Des, and he crashed over from 5 yards out taking Ealing defenders with him - ans as has been alluded to in previous reports, his contribution and carrying across the season has been immense - and rightly saw him crowned Most Improved Player at the evenings awards (more on that in a separate article). Conv made (still obvs) and gap back to 27 points; 41-14.
With both Pablo Torres and Pete Skyrme on the pitch, Harrow had some older, wiser heads to manage the final 10 minutes - and despite Ealing scoring with almost the last play of the game, there was not enough time for any further exchanges - and harrow put the ball into touch, the final whistle sounded, and Harrow had been victorious by 41 points to 21 - and the young team which has been built and moulded over the previous 6-7 months had again secured a fantastic reward for all their hard work, and merit Table 3 awaits for the 2022/23 season.
Presentation made, compulsory celebratory photo under the sticks - and a fantastic end to the season for the young Harrow Lions who have added MT promotion to the Merit Table Vase secured at Twickenham two weeks previous.
The last few weeks of the season have been a tremendous success for the Lions, and a huge thanks to all that have given up their time to play and support, and the future of the club is in great shape - with a real conveyor belt of young talent coming through - and a huge recognition of the work done within the Junior Section and the strong connections that have been made.
18 of the 21 man squad have come through the Junior Section in the last years, and with 2 current Junior Section coaches also included, a real whole club approach - and a real proud moment for all involved in Harrow RFC.

Squad as follows (in order of hot dogs consumed in 60 seconds): Billy Hutchinson ; Desmond Ogboru ; Jonathan Lavers ; Fernando Castro ; Santos Rodriguez ; Ted Skyrme ; Dylan Carberry ; Jamie Logan ; Ciaran O Sullivan ; Tom Hutton ; Freddie Broomhead ; Tom Linden ; Sam Harper ; Will Moran ; David Reeder ; Pablo Torres ; Mason Bailey ; Olly Summerfield ; Calum St John ; Harry Donovan ; Pete Skyrme.