HAC were the visitors to Bushy Park on Saturday for round 19 of the Regional 2 Thames league program, with Teddington looking to make amends for their performance in the previous fixture between the sides, when they were completely outplayed at the Artillery ground in November. HAC are competing at the sharp end of the table and are in a 3-way battle with London Scottish Lions and Belsize Park to secure the single promotion spot to Regional 1. The spring sunshine was out, and the pitch was in a remarkably good state given where it was a few weeks ago. Right from the off it was clear this one was going to be a lot closer than the first meeting, and after an even first 15 minutes, it was Teddington who drew first blood. They set up an attack in their own half, working the ball to Josh McKIERNAN who quickly moved into top gear before giving an inside pass to the supporting Max AITKEN who duly opened the scoring. HAC hit back 10 minutes later as the Antlers failed to deal with an awkward kick, allowing the visitors to pounce and feed their right wing who scored in the corner. An impressive conversion gave the visitors a 5-7 lead at half time. The lead was stretched to 5-10 after the break as HAC were awarded a penalty under the posts and they gratefully took the 3 points. Then came a period of pressure from Teddington and they again worked the ball to the right and fed inside for AITKEN to grab his second try of the afternoon. Soon after, HAC were down to 14 after a yellow card, and with Bob BEEVERS kicking the 3 points the momentum was swinging significantly towards the hosts. Unfortunately, the sin binning galvanised HAC and they responded immediately with a try and conversion of their own to regain a narrow lead. Teddington piled on the pressure again but couldn’t find the key to unlock the visitor’s defence. Eventually an attempt to run the ball out from inside their own half was fumbled and HAC needed no second invitation, scoring the decisive try. With still a losing bonus point to play for, the Antlers continued to throw everything at HAC; a period of pressure which ended with them being held up over the line and with it their chances of getting anything out of the game gone. To rub salt in the wounds, HAC again profited from a Teddington mistake in the dying seconds to secure their try bonus point and a comfortable win, at least on the scoreboard. Teddington will be happy with the way they competed and took the game to the second placed team, but they will rue the missed opportunities. Something to focus on for next week as the Antlers travel to league leaders London Scottish Lions. Final Score Teddington RFC 15 HAC RFC 31. Man of the Match Jack VALENTINE.

Photo by Simon RIDLER