Outstanding rugby and future is bright – Havant head coach delighted with exciting home win

Will Knight is predicting a bright future for Havant after they ended their London one south campaign with a thrilling 29-28 win against Medway at Hooks Lane.
By kevin.ricketts1
Published 15th Apr 2019, 15:46 BST
Jerome Trail helped set Havant on the path to an exciting home win. Picture: Keith Woodland (190119-646)Jerome Trail helped set Havant on the path to an exciting home win. Picture: Keith Woodland (190119-646)
Jerome Trail helped set Havant on the path to an exciting home win. Picture: Keith Woodland (190119-646)

The Kent visitors still harboured promotion hopes but these were dashed by a great team performance from the hosts.

Knight believes good foundations have been laid for next season.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Havant head coach said: ‘It was a cracking game of rugby and to be fair the final score flattered Medway.

‘We played some outstanding rugby and put them to the sword a bit at times.

‘Physically we constantly knocked them back and also took our chances well when they came along.

‘Anyone watching would have struggled to pick out which team was at the top and which is in mid-table.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘We have shown all season that we can beat the top teams and that is encouraging.

‘At the same time it is frustrating because with a bit more consistency we could have been challenging.

‘The manner of the win gives us a lot of positives heading into the summer.

‘If we can add that necessary consistency and a little more depth we will progress.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Havant made a disastrous start, conceding a converted try virtually straight from the kick off.

The home side, however, wasted little time in hitting back and were level minutes later.

Jake Hewitt made a terrific break and Jerome Trail sniped in for a try converted by Joel Knight.

On 11 minutes Hewitt added a converted from another break to give his side a 14-7 lead.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A disputed try allowed the visitors to go in level at the break.

Wayne Dugan restored the home lead early in the second period but in a ding-dong affair Medway forged into a 21-19 lead.

Home captain Joel Knight swung the game back for his team.

Midway through the half he scored with a great solo effort.

He side-stepped two defenders to go under the posts. Then he converted and quickly added a dropped goal.

In a tense finale Havant had two players yellow carded and Medway were awarded a penalty try.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite being down to 13 men Havant hung on for a deserved win.

Will Knight added: ‘After a difficult first half of the season we picked things up to finish sixth in the league.

‘It is great to finish with such a good win in front of a sizeable home crowd.

‘There must have been between 600 to 700 people at the game.

‘It was a great day for the club.’

Related topics:HavantLondonKent

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.