Tadley visited Henley Wanderers for their penultimate league game of the season. Tadley coach Craig Raymond having lost the battle against relegation chose to rest most of the first team regulars for the Berkshire Cup final the following and give the opportunity for some of the wider squad to gain some first team experience. Tadley made 10 changes to the side that had lost at Wycombe with Paul Collins, Jonathan Owen, Graham Pike, Stuart Campbell, Boats, Kevin Simpson, Paul Johnson, Chris MacMillan and Gareth Cripps-Jones coming in. Hooker Owen and flanker Boats both making their league debut for Tadley.

With Henley still fighting for survival and with conditions suiting their more mobile side Henley started the game at a terrific pace. Excellent running from depth especially from their athletic backrow meant that Tadley were quickly forced onto the back foot. Henley broke the Tadley defensive line with ease and quickly exposed the lack of organisation within the changed Tadley side. Henley scored a 8 tries in the first 35 minutes before Tadley launched any significant attack.

Tadley's attacking threat came mainly from burly Number 8 Mike Keeley who made a lot of yards from the base of the solid Tadley scrum and frequently showed up in the loose. Hooker Jonathan Owen also showed an excellent work rate in attack and defence on his debut. Just before half time a multi-phased attack directed by skipper Thomas Bailey resulted in Henley committing a professional foul. The referee, who had an excellent game, punished the transgression with a sin bin. Tadley were unable to convert this period of pressure or the numerical advantage into points.

Raymond made changes soon after half time with prop Rob Lowe, centre Andy Williams and lock Duncan Harris coming on. Tadley started the second half with some possession and territory mainly due to period of dominance in the scrum; however they were unable to string together enough phases to provide a genuine threat to Henley's defence. Henley managed to continue their rate of scoring despite this pressure mainly due to their ability to convert chances from within their own half with a series of clever passes and offloads.

To their credit Tadley did not give up trying to score until the end of the game. This attitude was prevalent throughput the team with no member giving up or letting their tempers spill over with frustration. This was epitomised by the hard work of the man of the match Jonathan Owen.

Henley thoroughly deserved the comprehensive 84-0 victory and played some excellent attacking rugby. They now look favourites to stay up in South West 2.

Tadley: P Collins (R Lowe 40), J Owen, G Pike, M Tucker (D Harris 45), S Campbell, Boats, D Seal, M Keeley, T Bailey (Capt), C Dennison, C Macmillan, K Simpson, T Smith (A Williams 45), P Johnson, G Cripps-Jones

Man of the Match - Jonathan Owen