Old Habs turned up at Harpenden, their 2020 reserve home ground, hoping to build
on two successive wins, but despite the excellent 4G surface both sides seemed
intent on providing an extended scrummaging session, as errors and knock-ons
punctuated the proceedings.
A good start from Habs saw them take an early 0-3 lead through the boot of
McGhee. The rest of the first half saw both teams looking to gain territorial
dominance through kicking, hard running, and solid defence, although both struggled
to convert their opportunities with multiple errors when chances presented
themselves. 
Throughout the second quarter Harpenden had the better of the opportunities, but it
wasn’t until a penalty saw them draw the scores level, before a try with the last play
of the first half saw the home side take an 8-3 lead into the break.
The second half saw Harpenden pick up where they left off with a strong start and
rapidly extending their lead to 13-3 following some good phase play.
The poor start to the second half by Habs continued, as another error in their own
half saw a penalty conceded that was duly converted by Harpenden to give them a
16-3 lead.
An improvement from Habs and an error from Harpenden saw the gap narrow, as a
midfield mistake by the home side, followed by a kick through and an attempt to run
out of their 22 presented an opportunistic try under the sticks for CJ who ran the ball
in from 5m out (16-10).
This lifeline put a spring back into the step of Habs as they pushed for another try.
Some good forwards work in the lineout and maul created space out wide for CJ to
cross again, returning stats of 2 tries for 8m gained and a fine for hat-trick avoidance.
The conversion was missed leaving Habs one point behind with 10 minutes to play
(16-15).
As the clock wound down and the scrum went forward Habs pushed for another
score to take the lead, running the ball from their own half, but failed to make the
most of space created with multiple errors putting a halt to their momentum, and
the final error of the day came from yours truly, as a poor pass hit the deck and was
hacked forward by the Harpenden winger to score a converted try to seal the win
and deny Habs a losing bonus point.
A disappointing result for OH, with a number of silly mistakes still peppering the
performance, but there were signs of improvement, as the team continues to
develop, including excellent league debuts for Niss, Jenkins, Wright and Kayll. Next
week sees Habs entertain Colchester at Croxdale Road, seeking a first victory over
the Essex side.