WHAT A DAY!
Harrow Lions were victorious on Saturday with a hard fought victory in the final of the Merit Table Vase competition in what was an evenly balanced match against Grasshoppers.
On a gloriously sunny day, and having navigated the traffic chaos that is Feltham and HounSLOW on a Saturday lunchtime, Harrows squad arrived at Twickenham RFC in or around the agreed meet time, and as has been a feature of all the Lions fixtures this season, there was a healthy blend of playing experience alongside an ever growing number of current and former Colts within the squad, which is a fantastic reflection on the work and effort the club (and particularly Pete Skyrme) has put in across the last seasons to engage and bring through players from the Junior to the Senior section.
First Senior appearances for David Reader, Tom Carter and Mason Bailey - who again have all come through, or are current products of the Colts system, and 13 of the 21 man squad played their formative years in Harrows Junior Section.
On to the game, and with a slight slope and the wind in their favour Harrow started the brighter, and an early foray into Grasshoppers 22 earned Harrow a penalty just to the right of the posts, kick option taken and three points on the board courtesy of Aaron Lewis boot.
Both sides were trying to put their mark on the game, and Harrow had slightly the upper hand at set-piece with the scrum ascendancy courtesy of a front row of Leo Paoletti, Des Ogboru and Lavers really turning the screw on their opposite numbers and with a youthful engine room of Billy Hutchinson and Santos Rodriguez, secure ball and a comfortable ride at the back of the scrum for the impressive Tom Linden was the plan.
At the line-out Pablo Torres was imperious - clean ball on our throw, and disruptive on theirs - and it was off one of those stolen line-outs that Harrow broke into Hoppers 22 - and a short off load from the base of the ruck saw Des blast through to score under the posts - again a real star performer this season, and his work ethic across the 100 minutes was outstanding. Conversion made and Harrow 10-0 to the good.
Given the strength of the opposition Grasshoppers were never going to roll over - and back they came with a couple of tries of their own through the electric pace of their winger and the 13 who both had outstanding games - and could have been the difference between winning and losing if we had not managed to shut down the supply to them a bit more in the second half.
Another Grasshopper try made the half-time score 19-10 to Grasshoppers, and with a couple of infringements meaning that Harrow were down to 13 for the last few minutes of the half and the first few of the second - the pressure was really on. However, the opportunity to regroup between halves was a blessing, and with an agreement that we would keep out mouths shut and let our rugby talk for us, the start of the second half saw harrow get a foothold back in the game.
Grasshoppers scrum was under pressure, and with slow ball at the base they tried to run out of the 22, but a loose pass was superbly intercepted by Josh Raitamata - and he glided under the posts - conversion made by Billy Argent and scores back within two points at 17-19.
Another Grasshoppers try saw the lead stretch to 24-17, but almost immediately some excellent kick return from David Reader who had a fantastic game at 15 in challenging conditions, and Harrow were on the offensive again, and a pick and go from Tom Linden saw him outpace the Grasshopper defence to score, and with conversion made again scores were again locked at 24 all. Grasshoppers scored again, and a difficult conversion missed - Harrow 24-29 down with just a handful of minutes to play - but despite being up the slope and into the wind Harrow never relented, and another Tom Linden break saw him go over in the corner - and despite the conversion going wide scores were locked at 29 each - and a handful opf minutes to play. Harrows defence was stretched, but each and every player made their tackles, and special mention to Mason Bailey and Aidan Doran who both came on midway through the second half and seamlessly fitted in making tackle after tackle.
Another slip of discipline saw Harrow lose another player to the bin with minutes to go, but unfortunately the Grasshopper player also reacted to the incident and his response was deemed worthy of a red card (to be fair i didn't see it (honestly) - and it hadn't been that sort of game (honestly again) - and you have to feel for a young lad who probably had a rush of blood in a specific moment).
One final opportunity with a penalty to the left of the posts, but kick missed and the final whistle went with the teams locked on 29 points apiece.
Confusion reigned, was it next score wins, golden try, toss of a coin or rock , paper, scissors - as always everybody had an opinion - but thankfully the referee was clear that 2 additional periods of extra time of 10 minutes each would be played, and if no outcome then a coin would be tossed !
So off we went again, with slope and wind in our favour and an extra man to boot. It wasa very entertaining fiorst period, and with fatigue setting in more mistakes, which led to more open field opportunities. From a resulting break into Grasshoppers half they conceded a penalty at the ruck and Aaron Lewis kicked from the tee to put Harrow 3 points up after the first period of extra time.
The next 10 minutes was a defensive masterclass - time after time Grasshoppers tried to use the conditions to break though, round or over Harrows defensive lines, but every time they were repelled, and a combination of some slightly younger legs, and the extra man meant Harrow were able to hold out, and with Jamie Logan and Tom Carter combining to stop and rip the ball out of Grasshoppers hands in the last play of the game the whistle went and Harrow had a deserved victory by 32 points to 29.
A fantastic achievement and a great day of rugby for the club, and the culmination of some excellent work being done right throughout the club.
Team as follows: 1. Leo Paoletti ; 2. Desmond Ogboru ; 3. Jonathan Lavers ; 4. Billy Hutchinson ; 5. Santos Rodriguez ; 6. James Tooke ; 7. Pablo Torres ; 8. Jamie Logan ; 9. Tom Linden ; 10. Billy Argent ; 11. Sam Harper ; 12. Aaron Lewis ; 13. Josh Raitamata ; 14. Calum St John ; 15. David Reader ; 16. Aidan Doran ; 17. Florin Chiesa ; 18. Mason Bailey ; 19. Tom Carter ; 20. Pete Skyrme ; 21. Iain Taffs.

A couple of additional points:
First – it was great to see so many lads want to turn out and wear the shirt, and the effort, determination and sheer bloody mindedness that we would not lose was great to see.
B - When you pick a squad of 21 thinking a couple might let you down, and everyone rocks up wanting to play a part, and be a part of the success – that tells me we are going in the right direction as a club.
3 - Against a much changed Grasshoppers team, all 19 players who took the field at some point were an absolute credit to OUR club.
Yes we lost a little bit of discipline at times, but I like to think that is driven by players wanting to be their best and do their best for the club – at times it can be frustrating.
We had players pulling on a shirt at OUR club for the first time, as well as players pulling on a shirt for probably the last time – but the one thing we all had in common was that we were playing for the same goal, the same outcome and without each other it would never have been achieved.
It would be unfair to single out any one player – we had wise heads in places, new heads in others – but everyone did their bit, gave their all and the result was in our favour.
Personally I could not be more proud of where our club is currently – and the result is another step (but a bloody enjoyable one) on that journey – and because of the lads who played and all of the support, coaches, physios etc etc and the lads who perhaps didn’t make the team or were not available – every single one had a hand in the performance and achievement. It is a win for individuals, but more importantly a huge win for US as a club.
Lets not forget we still have another opportunity to make OUR/YOUR club proud on Wednesday evening (13th) – and hopefully again on Saturday 23rd April.
Wins in finals don’t come along every week, so we should take the time to celebrate it and then switch back on for what promises to be a great encounter midweek – with hopefully another final before the social event of the year at the End of Season Dinner.(Tickets available - Contact me !!)