A WARM WELCOME TO HENLEY RFC
We give a warm Knole Paddock welcome to The Hawks for the second time, following their initial visit last term.
When we first met last year Henley also just happened to be the 100th different club we played against in League competition since it all started in September 1987. No prizes for trying to guess all those names, but I wonder how many serial attendees can list the six other 1st XVs we have played in league matches that start with the letter ‘H’?
Old Henleiensians was formed in 1930 for the usual Old Boys clubs’ reason that the recent alumni wanted to continue playing rugby after school. Competitive matches were played up to WW2 when the club disbanded but then reformed in 1954, for the same reason as previously. Then, as with several other Old Boys clubs, they went “open” in 1963 and changed their name to Henley – probably much to the relief of other clubs’ fixture secretaries and spell checkers. All this coincided with their big move to Dry Leas where they have resided ever since.
Henley started League life in South West 2, equivalent to Level 6. Then, in 1990 Sir Clive Woodward took over the coaching role, with almost instant results. Promotion was gained in 1992 and again in 1994 to achieve National Leagues status. After Woodward departed to pursue his ambitions, two further promotions were gained to land them in Allied Dunbar 2, now The Championship.
As they moved up the RFU pyramid, in 1997 The ”Hawks” monicker was added to their name.
The Hawks’ final break with The Championship was in 2005 and since then they have oscillated between Levels 3 and 4, including four consecutive seasons in which they were relegated and promoted twice each.
This is now The Hawks’ seventh season on the trot in Level 4 and, with a 3-1 record so far, continue to be one of the stronger sides in our division. We did lower their colours at home last November, so a repeat performance would not go amiss for the Knole Paddock faithful.
An intriguing Level 4 match between the established and the sophomore awaits.
Howard Pearl
Other National League 2 East Division matches being played today:
Dorking v Westcombe Park Esher v Old Albanian
North Walsham v Barnes Tonbridge Juddian v Bury St Edmunds
Wimbledon v Guernsey Worthing v Canterbury