Halstead Templars triumph over Ipswich seconds in opener

With a relatively new line-up, it seemed to be too much change in the opening phases, with poor communication allowing Ipswich to open the scoring.

However, this seemed to galvanise Halstead, with an aggressive approach to defence and fantastic basic skills to mitigate Ipswich's physical edge leading to quick scores by Hallows and Cuthbert.

It left the Knights 14-7 up at the 20-minute mark.

Returning from injury and hoping to make an impact, Stephens became slightly too keen and ended up in the sin bin for a high tackle.

Yet this did not stop the Knights who continued their dominance with two more tries while down to 14 (Stephens with the yellow).

Hindley scored from a strike play while vice-captain Fellowes showed pure grit and fitness to get on the end of a series of offloads, leaving the score at 26-7 at the break.

The second half appeared to be a more balanced affair, with Ipswich pushing hard for long periods.

Ipswich scored before Templars restored their three-score lead through Sanders, regathering a chip through to score.

Entering the final 20 minutes, Ipswich had been thoroughly on top.

But they were only able to get one more score to make it 31-19 before Templars broke their momentum, with a penalty from Sanders.

This final restoration of a three-score lead appeared to break Ipswich's resolve, and the Knights scored three quick tries in the final ten minutes.

Scrum-half Merry, centre Rainer with a huge carry taking on multiple defenders on his way to the line and Cuthbert getting his brace, running from his line all the way to score to seal the Templars' win.

Sanders was awarded man of the match and Stephens DoTD following his yellow card.

With a home fixture against Thurston twos next week, the team looks forward to welcoming all supporters and is excited for the year to come.

Tries: S. Hallows, O. Cuthbert (2), S. Hindley, I. Fellowes, H. Sanders, E. Merry, R. Rainer.

Conversions: J. Grimwood-King (5); Penalties: H Sanders.