Harwich once again made a flying start. Just two minutes into the contest, Andrew Sterry broke through the Halstead defensive line before finding Ryan Bradley in support, who used his pace to race clear and score the opening try.

Three minutes later, the Harwich pack began to assert itself. Props Leo Cummings and Nick Letch helped drive a dominant scrum that put Halstead under pressure and forcing the error, giving Harwich a line-out just five metres from the try line. A well-executed catch and drive made an easy finish for Alex Morton, before captain Sam Parker added an excellent conversion from close to the touchline to make it 12–0.

Harwich had to wait until the 28th minute for their third try. Bradley Durrant won an important turnover near halfway before the ball was moved quickly through the hands. Parker spotted a gap in the defence and carved his way through to score.
Parker then crossed again before the interval, this time finding space out wide to add his second try of the afternoon and give Harwich a commanding 24–0 lead at half-time.

Harwich picked up where they had left off after the restart. Andrew Sterry used his footwork to beat his defender and race over for another Harwich score, before Cameron Clarke added to the tally four minutes later with a pick-and-go from the base of a ruck.

On 58 minutes Halstead clawed one back, spinning the ball out wide to reduce the deficit to 36–5. Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished, however, as Parker crossed again shortly afterwards to complete his hat-trick and cap an influential performance from the Harwich captain.

There was still time for one final Harwich score. A bouncing ball deceived the onrushing Halstead defence and fell kindly for Lewis Williams, who reacted quickest to touch down and round off another impressive afternoon at Low Road.

Final score: Harwich & Dovercourt 48–5 Halstead Templars
Player of the match: Lewis Williams

Despite a number of changes to the side, including debuts for Farron Leeks and Jake Wood, a well-drilled Harwich proved too strong for Halstead, reflecting the work put in by coach Ben Gale during pre-season and, hopefully, offering a sign of things to come for the rest of the campaign.
The victory makes it two wins from two and sees Harwich remain top of the table. Next up for Harwich is another home fixture, with Colchester A’s visiting Low Road on Saturday, 10 October, for a 3pm kick-off.