END OF SEASON AWARD DINNER

The U14s end of season awards event will be held at the clubhouse on Thursday 18th June!!  Players, family, friends & siblings are all welcome!  Obviously, the next day is a school day, so we’ll try to be speedy on the night:  Food and awards will start promptly at 8.00pm.

Time: 7.30 for 8.00

Catering:  Curry will be provided, the bar will be open.

Price: £12 per head, U11s: £5.00 (payable on the evening, note that price now allows for purchase of the awards!).

Could you please respond via email and let me know:

-          that you will be attending!

-          number in your party (please specify how many are U11)

-          dietary preferences (number of vegetarians)

We plan to have a DIY raffle, so could each group aim to bring a prize?  (This event is priced to provide a contribution to 2010 tour funds. Raffle proceeds will also go towards 2010 tour).

2010 Tour:  This has now been booked. Please watch your email for further details. There will also be information available at the presentation evening.

Player’s Player Award: Could each player please provide nominations for this award. Please provide three names in preference order. Email to myself and Guy.

6/3/2009 3:33:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Newbury 10s Plate Winners

Heathfield travelled to Newbury for their annual National 10s Tournament on a bight and breezy (VERY EARLY!) Sunday morning and were greeted by a wonderful ground and exceptional 1^st team pitch, complete with grandstand!

Heathfield started off playing against Harrow who presented us (and many other teams) with the problem of an inside centre who looked like he could have played for the colts! Heathfield lost this match 14 – 7 but actually came off the pitch feeling a bit aggrieved as they played the much better rugby. Not the best start to the tournament!

Next up was host team Newbury who we beat 12 – 7 but it was close! Heathfield were 12 – 0 up at half-time but relaxed noticeably to allow Newbury to come back at them and were relieved when the final whistle went.
The final pool match was against Devonport Services (Navy). We lost this one 19 – 0 and really were not at the races at all. It seemed at this point that the boys were a bit “jet-lagged” and suffering from the end of a long season!

And so to the knock-out stages…

Bournemouth were beaten fairly convincingly 19 – 0 with the team beginning to get their playing legs back again. There was certainly more drive and commitment in all phases of play above and beyond the previous match and the team started playing with pride again!

Heathfield faced Redingensians in the semi-finals and really got back into their playing “zone” for this match. An early try be Redingensians was matched by Heathfield who went on to score a second before half-time. Redingensians fought back strongly in the second half to register their second try to take the lead 14 – 12 with about 3 minutes left to play. Heathfield then managed to get a 30 metre rolling maul going which culminated in the ball being held up over the try-line. Heathfield managed to score from the ensuing scrum with the final whistle going on the failed conversion. That was a close shave with Heathfield winning 17 – 14 in the end.

The Plate Final was held on the Newbury 1^st team pitch against the hosts, Newbury. Heathfield were now well and truly in the right frame of mind again. It seemed the knock-out stage of this tournament was the catalyst they needed! Heathfield started strongly and never really let the hosts into the game at any point. Heathfield’s first score was a penalty try for a high tackle against Henry Jolliffe when he was seemingly in the clear… perhaps a bit harsh but we weren’t going to argue the point with the referee! A second try followed before half time with Heathfield now commanding the game. The final try was a sublime dummy scissors between Henry J. and Fergus Diplock which completely fooled the opposition (and some of our own players including Fergus!) which allowed Henry to skirt through to seal the victory 17 – 0.

Well done all the players, and parents for this rather long day out!

5/5/2009 9:02:22 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Heathfield U14 – East Coast Champions

Heathfield U14 departed for the distant shores of…. err….  Norwich on Friday morning for their end-of-season tour; in good spirits but with a number of players unavailable or injured. We arrived late afternoon  in Norwich under a cover of fairly thick mist and cold conditions and decided to warm up using the time-honoured and traditional touring methods. Available at the bar!

Saturday start of tournament

The tournament format was a “try fest” with no conversions and 12.5 minute halves. Heathfields opponents for the day were Middlesbrough, Cheshunt and Oakham (Leicester).

Middlesbrough
Heathfield started slowly and allowed a very useful Middlesbrough side packed with very large forwards and backs to dominate. Their backs in particular were quick and quite large and managed to score after about 5 minutes of play. This seemed to stir the Heathfield U14 beast a little and from the kick-off there was an obvious greater urgency from the players. This led to an incisive run from Gareth Lloyd at outside centre, who dummied and stepped his way through four attempted tackles to score under the posts. Half time soon arrived and it was with great trepidation that Jasper Wrenn, the squads injured captain was brought on. This had an immediate effect on the pack which began to gain dominance over the MB pack. An excellent scrum win allowed the backs to move the ball to give George Bending, on the wing, a run down the line to score a relieving try to take the lead. The match was still very much in the balance with Heathfield defending well to prevent the MB backs from breaking free. However, with 2 minutes left of the match and Heathfield with a lineout on the MB 5m line, the ball was swiftly moved to Gareth, who had switched places with inside centre Travis Parsons, to run a loop, draw the last defender and dummy to George and cut back to score close to the post.
Heathfield win 15 – 5.

­Cheshunt
Heathfield were now “warmed up” and started this match fully fired up. After 2 minutes Heathfield crossed the Cheshunt line for the first time after some sweeping play taking the ball right, then left and back to the right wing again. This resulted in Henry Ross receiving the ball with a big overlap which he decided he didn’t need as he crashed over to score. The next score started from our 22m line when Jasper took quick ball from a ruck, went about 20 and kicked for touch. Heathfield won the lineout with Lewis Golding going 40m before being brought down close to the try-line. A series of rucks eventually saw Freddy Jones pick up and drive through to score. This brought up the half-time whistle.
The second half started with a number of changes to the team but not to the attitude and commitment on display. Tim Farrell scored from excellent  possession and continuity, Will Morris from a lineout 5m into the Cheshunt half with Heathfield driving and rucking in a series of phases and finally Henry Ross from a cross-field kick from Harry Reilly that ended up in a ruck near the try-line that Henry Ross gathered and grubbered through to fall on the ball. Unfortunately an injury Gareth meant he was to play no further part in the tournament having played some sublime rugby up to this point!
Heathfield win 30 – 0.

Oakham
This was the Alex Borg match… fastest prop in the east!
From the kick-off, Henry Ross fielded the ball and popped to Alex who proceeded to step and hand-off half a dozen Oakham players on his way to the line. Indeed, Alex was so excited he almost dropped the ball 5m from the line with no defenders left to beat! Next was a lineout on our 10m line. Catch by Henry, peel by Greg Pearce, pop to Alex and he was away again scoring close to the posts. Not to be outdone, Harry Reilly took the ball from the Heathfield 10m line dummied and accelerated and was past the defence to score under the posts.
The second half was more of the same. A minute after the restart and directly from a lineout catch, Alex again burst straight through the cover defence to score his third of the match. He was promptly substituted!. Next Will Morris got in on the act from a tap penalty 20m from the try-line. No one really had it in them to stop him and he crashed over for another try. Kieran Burdett  was next with a quick tap from a penalty 15m out and was able to step his way to the try-line. Finally Will again, this time targeting the number 10 who made a brave attempt at a tackle but failed, as did a couple more tacklers left will just able to make the line.
Heathfield win 35 – 0.

End of day one. Scored 16 tries and conceded 1. We were the overnight leaders, being the only side to be unbeaten.

Sunday – day 2

Heathfields opponents for the day were Worthing and Norwich.

Worthing
Heathfield started the match playing some scintillating rugby with forwards and backs combining beautifully to score 3 tries without reply by half time. From a scrum on the Worthing 10m line, Zach Llamas picked, gained good yards, set up a ruck and from there Lewis Golding was able to pick up and smash through the remnants of the Worthing defence. Next, the ball went down the line superbly to a ruck. Kieran stepped a couple of tackles from the ruck and the ball went back down the line to George Bending, now playing at centre, who was able to saunter over to score in the corner.. Finally, after 2 against-the-head scrum wins in a row (the count ended up at 5 against the head that half), the ball was fed to Jack Koops on the wing to put in a great burst of speed and a step to beat the last defender to score.
With a raft of changes in the second half, Worthing came back strongly in a good passage of play to score 2 excellent tries which left all the Heathfield players and parents just a bit nervous for the final few minutes. Heathfield managed however to hold out for a well deserved win. Louis Chavannes was concussed in a tackle in this match and would take no further part in the tournament.
Heathfield win 15 – 10.

Norwich
Heathfield, still unbeaten, now had an unassailable lead at the top of the league table which meant we would go through to the main cup final regardless of the outcome of this match. There was, however, considerable pride to play for! Heathfield took to the field with a makeshift side with a combination of preserving players where possible, getting good game time for everyone in the squad and a long injury list.
The game started with Norwich taking the game to Heathfield and were camped for pretty much the entire first half in Heathfield’s half. Only some absolutely stunning defensive work from everyone on the pitch, particularly George, Zach and Kieran on the wing prevented Norwich from scoring during this period. These were nervy times but the players showed the same grit and determination as the previous weeks outstanding defensive performance against Saracens.
The second half was to have a similar script to the first. Outstanding defence with the occasional foray into Norwich territory was the order of the day. However, with 5 minutes to go and a raft of changes to try and tip the balance of play, Heathfield managed to alleviate some of the pressure with some fantastic scrummaging from the front row of Lewis Golding, Max Ellery and Alex Borg, the like of which I have not seen at this level. Norwich’s front row was lifted in the scrum a number of times through technique and power from Heathfield and this meant they were unable to exert any more pressure for the remainder of the match. Tim Farrell was concussed in this match and would take no further part in the tournament.
Heathfield draw 0 – 0.

And so to the final which was to be played against Middlesbrough on Norwich’s first team pitch (a very nice ground by the way with some excellent pitches). This match was 15 minutes a half.

Heathfield were fired up for the final against a much bigger side in general. Large forwards and some very exciting (and large) backs. They knew from the previous days match what trouble this Middlesbrough side could cause and ensured there was no recurrence of the MB early score of the previous day. Indeed, Heathfield completely dominated play in this first half with an awesome display of scrummaging power. The first try came about from a DSP making good yards from the Heathfield 10m line. The ball was recycled quickly left to find Jamie Wardle in the line. Jamie stepped and handed off two would be tacklers to score a real tension busting try. This seemed to fire up an already fired up Heathfield side. Next a great scrum win against the head saw the ball nicely moved down the line to George who proceeded to chip the oncoming defence. He easily outpaced the back-pedalling defence and wasn’t to be denied by the bounce of the ball to score an excellent try in the corner. The final passage of play of the half saw a similar move to George’s score. Another astute chip ahead by George saw a ruck formed close to the try-line. Travis Parsons was first to the breakdown in good support of George and was able to pick-up and dive over for his first try of the tournament.
The second half saw Middlesbrough dominate for the first 5 minutes. During this period of pressure, they managed to put together a number of good phases which culminated in Heathfield giving away penalties. From a quick tap, MB was able to get the ball wide to their speedy winger who outpaced the covering defence to score in the corner. Heathfield did not however, let this disrupt the game they had been playing. Instead, some excellent defensive work from Dean Pennell and great covering and support by all the players saw Heathfield again take control of the match. Harry Reilly kept MB pinned in their half with some astute kicks and it was from a series of these kicks and subsequent line-outs that Heathfield moved from their try-line to the MB try-line. A good lineout win on the MB throw and subsequent ruck saw Kieran Burdett snip on the blind side and score in the corner. There was about a minute left of play before the final whistle went to some ecstatic scenes.
Heathfield win 20 – 5.

Tour Stats

4/14/2009 10:17:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

HEATHFIELD U14 Season 2008 / 2009 - Detailed Results

Guy's official detailed results for the season are shown in the table below.

DATE	TEAM	RESULT	T(F)	T(A)	SCORERS
05/10/2008	BRIGHTON	(L) 0 – 5	0	1
12/10/2008	Eastbourne	(W) 61 – 5	11	1	Jolliffe(4), Bending, Borg, Ingham, Farrell, Jones, Lloyd, Wardle
19/10/2008	Lewes	(W) 50 – 0	8	-	Jolliffe(4), Borg(2), Jones, Llamas
26/10/2008	CHICHESTER	(W) 21 – 0	3	-	Diplock, Jolliffe, Ross
09/11/2008	Medway	(L) 17 – 36	3	6	Jones, Golding, Jolliffe
16/11/2008	HOVE	(W) 15 – 5	2	1	A.Davies, Ross
23/11/2008	Uckfield	(W) 48 – 0	8	-	Borg(2), Lloyd(2), Diplock, Koops, Dunn, Burdett
14/12/2008	CROWBOROUGH	(W) 12 – 10	2	1	Bending, Jolliffe
18/01/2009	PULBOROUGH	(W) 10 – 5	2	1	Borg, Wardle
01/02/2009	Crawley	(W) 24 – 12	4	2	Jolliffe (4)
22/02/2009	Midhurst	(W) 28 – 10	4	2	Jolliffe, Llamas, Borg, Wrenn
01/03/2009	HAYWARDS HEATH	(L) 14 – 22	2	3	Morris, Burdett
08/03/2009	Lewes	(W) 44 – 5	8	1	Lloyd(2), Golding(2), Borg, Koops, Ross, Wrenn
15/03/2009	EAST GRINSTEAD	(W) 48 – 0	8	-	Jolliffe(2), Bending, Morris, Wrenn, Lloyd, Wardle, Reilly
22/03/2009	Lewes	(W) 20 – 0	4	-	Jolliffe(2), Borg, Lloyd
22/03/2009	Eastbourne	(W) 27 - 0	5	-	Bending(2), Borg, Diplock, Jolliffe
29/03/2009	Saracens	(W) 8 - 7	1	1	Jolliffe
TOTALS			76	20	Jolliffe(22), Borg(10), Lloyd(7), Bending(5), Diplock(3), Golding(3), Jones(3), Ross(3), Wardle(3), Wrenn(3), Burdett(2), Koops(2), Llamas(2), Morris(2), A.Davies, Dunn, Farrell, Ingham, Reilly

 

 

 

Overall Season Results

 

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points (F)	Points (A)
17	14	0	3	457	122

 

 

Early bird catches the worm

Heathfield U14   8     Vs.     7    Saracens U14

An early start was needed for this match, the final official match of the U14 season, away to Saracens at their Bramel Road ground in North London. A 10:00 kick-off meant that the squad left Heathfield at the bird twittering time of 07:30 (06:30 in old money as the clocks went forward!!!) for the 1 hour 40 minute trip up north.

Saracens kicked-off and applied instant and constant pressure to a still bleary-eyed Heathfield. It wasn’t really until after about 15 minutes into the match that Heathfield started to properly contest play. However, they did manage to keep the constant Saracens attacks at bay by excellent support and defensive play marshaled superbly by centres Fergus Diplock and Gareth Lloyd. A number of last ditch tackles were made against the Saracens players striving to cross the Heathfield line. Indeed, during the entire first half, Heathfield defended on the backfoot with Saracens crossing the line three times but being prevented from putting the ball down by some excellent smothering tackles.

Heathfields forwards played exceptionally well during this first half against a much heavier and physically more mature Saracens pack winning 2 scrums against the head and a couple of lineouts as well as holding all their own feeds. Heathfields rucking and mauling were also helping to keep them in the game with Heathfield winning a number of turn-overs in the loose. It was from one of these turn-overs deep in the Heathfield half that saw a break by Alex Borg, supported by Lewis Golding take Heathfield into the Saracens half for the first time in the match. Interplay between the front rowers through a number of tackles saw them (with the pack in full support) take the ball into the opposition 22 before the move broke down with illegal hands from Saracens. Harry Reilly teed up and converted as the last kick of the half. So, Heathfield managed to weather the Saracens storm and came away with 3 points to lead at half time, completely against the run of play.

Half Time: Heathfield lead 3 – 0.

The second half started with Heathfield buoyed by their defensive performance and beginning to come more into the game. Indeed, although Saracens still had the majority of the territory and  possession, Heathfield were beginning to make more of an impact in attack. After about 8 minutes, Heathfield again ventured into the Saracens half but this time it was to be the start of a period of good pressure. A scrum on the Saracens 22m was won by Heathfield with a T2 being called. Henry Jolliffe received the ball at pace but found his path blocked. A couple of steps back inside saw him facing a big 2^nd row whom he proceeded to skin on the outside leaving him suddenly in the open with the winger to beat. Again Henry applied the gas and was able to take a couple of tacklers with him to score in the corner. Harry just failed to make the conversion from out wide.

Saracens fluffed the re-start and this, along with the try gave Heathfield the confidence to really start playing some good rugby. However, Saracens still had the majority of the field position and territory. It seemed that every time Heathfield went deep into the Saracens half, a couple of referee decisions meant they were right back where they started, back near their own try-line! Heathfields backs  were still making the breaks and threatening against the general play and on another of these forays into the Saracens half, a concerted effort from the pack close to the line saw Henry Ross cross the line only for the referee to give a 22m drop out to Saracens?

A number of injuries to Heathfield disrupted their play a bit and it was from a Saracens quick penalty that they were able to take the ball wide and finally beat the cover defence. An excellent conversion from wide out meant that a nerve jangling final 10 minutes was to come with the score 8 – 7 to Heathfield.

Thankfully, over these final few minutes, Heathfield were able to maintain their composure and defence with excellent tackles from Louis Chavannes and Dean Pennell on the wings preventing the final pass getting out. The final whistle blew and there was considerable elation and relief from all the Heathfield players (and coaches and parents!).

This was, by some considerable distance, the best defensive performance from Heathfield and is testament to the work and commitment the squad put in on the training paddock and reinforces how miserly this squad are in conceding scores against them.

Well done everyone! Tour to Norwich next week and let’s ensure we keep this level of commitment, enthusiasm and fun throughout the tour.

Final Score: Heathfield win 8 – 7.

 

 

3/29/2009 8:30:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Quiz Nite Madness Hits H&WRFC Again!!!

On Friday 17th April The Clubhouse will again be the venue for the next fantastic Quiz Nite.  Hosted by the Junior section of the Club, compared by the Dynamic Duo Helen Goacher and Alison Bending, pencils will need to be sharpened, thinking caps put firmly on and a rallying cry of 'oooohhhh I know this one' at the ready!

Everyone is welcome, the atmosphere is always electric with excitement and anticipation of not being on the bottom of the scoreboard!

To enter your team all you will need is 4-6 players, a silly name, a £20 note, and to notify either your Squad Manager, Helen or Alison.  See Easy!

SEE YOU THERE!!!

3/25/2009 10:18:30 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

TRIANGULAR FIXTURE

Heathfield U14   20     Vs.     0    Lewes U14

Heathfield U14    27      Vs.     0    Eastbourne U14

On another beautiful warm and sunny Sunday morning, Heathfield U14 arrived at Eastbourne for a triangular fixture with Eastbourne and Lewes U14 teams. The format was for shortened games of 15 minutes a half, playing “round-robin”.

Eastbourne and Lewes played the first match with Lewes beating Eastbourne (I think) fairly comfortably although I am unsure of the score.

Heathfield V Lewes

Lewes then played Heathfield with their dander up and looking to avenge their defeats in previous meetings. This match started with Heathfield applying lots of pressure without really creating too much phased play. This was a bit disappointing after the way they played against East Grinstead the previous week. After about 8 minutes, Lewes gave away a series of scrums and penalties close to their line and it was from one of these penalties that Alex Borg was able to crash over for a well earned try. More pressure from the kick off eventually led to a fine mis-pass from Harry Reilly finding Gareth Lloyd taking the ball at pace to outflank his opposite number and score. Both these tries were unconverted.

Half Time: Heathfield lead 10 – 0.

The second half started in much the same vein with a total of five substitutions being made. This did result in the scrum losing some of the strength and guile of the first half but this was made up with good support play in its stead. After about 10 minutes of Heathfield attacking play, with the occasional Lewes foray into the Heathfield half, the ball was re-cycled from a ruck to the backs only to find Will Morris loitering at outside centre. Will proceeded to skin his opposite number on the outside and went storming 40m upfield. It was only an exceptionally brave Lewes tackle that prevented him from making the line himself. However, the ball was extremely well recycled through three more phases to Henry Jolliffe who was able to beat the last tackle to score in the corner. From the kick-off, Heathfield again pressured the Lewes line and an excellent dummy switch with Fergus and Gareth saw Harry pop to Henry who again scored in the corner. Unfortunately, Harry didn’t bring his kicking boots today and all conversions were missed to leave the score at full tome of 20 – 0.

Full Time: Heathfield win 20 – 0.

Heathfield V Eastbourne

The next match was Heathfield against Eastbourne. The Heathfield team that finished the Lewes match started the Eastbourne match and struggled to better a much larger pack. This was unusual for Heathfield who normally manage to dominate most packs in the county so the players really had to work hard. Eastbourne contested scrums and rucks manfully but didn’t really threaten the Heathfield line until a break and some missed tackles saw Eastbourne just kept at by by an excellent try-saving tackle from Fergus. However, the half ended with a penalty to Heathfield about 35m from the Eastbourne line which saw a quick tap, quick recycled ball out to Henry who delayed a long pass extremely well to a drifting Fergus Diplock who was able to round his opponent and race down the line to score. Harry missed the conversion and so half time came up with Heathfield just ahead and the game in the balance.

Half Time: Heathfield lead 5 – 0.

The second half saw a raft of changes to the props, the 2^nd row and centre, and a bit of a rollicking from Jasper the (non-playing) captain saw a distinct mood change from Heathfield. They proceeded to dominate the Eastbourne pack but it took a further 6 minutes before a scrum on the Eastbourne 22m line allowed the backs to use a simple move learnt 10 minutes before the start of play! With the ball won at the scrum, a quick release of the ball to Harry saw him spin a 20m pass, missing both centres to Henry Jolliffe entering the line from fullback at pace in the outside channels. Henry proceeded to speed past the Eastbourne winger before dotting down close to the posts. Harry converted this try.
This seemed to do the trick for Heathfield who now started to play some decent rugby. Alex Borg was the next to score after crashing through a number of tackles when receiving the ball in the line. The forwards had a big say in the next try. From a 3^rd phase ruck the ball was spun out to the backs only to find Alex. Alex took the ball on and drew a number of players to him before passing to Max Ellery with a quick pop to Henry Ross (that was 3 forwards in the packs PASSING THE BALL!!!). An excellent overhead pass from Henry missed Fergus and went to Henry Jolliffe joining the line with the Eastbourne defence shredded. Henry drew the last defender to pass to George Bending to score an excellent and well worked try in the corner.
A similar move followed with what was to be the last play of the day. From a penalty 30m from the Eastbourne line, Heathfield spun the ball quickly down the line. Good confident passing, with Henry Jolliffe making the extra man between the centre and wing saw him draw and give an excellent pass to George Bending on the wing. No one was going to stop George at full pace and indeed he managed to win the race to the line without being touched. An excellent way to close the days play.

Final Score: Heathfield win 27 – 0.

3/23/2009 10:49:16 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

And Finally .......

Heathfield U14   48     Vs.     0    East Grinstead U14

A highly depleted squad of 16 arrived at East Grinstead for their final ‘A’ league match of the season in glorious sunshine and summer-like temperatures. It was a signal for Heathfield to play their best game of sustained pressure of the season against a committed East Grinstead side.

Heathfield started strongly and pressured the EG forwards in the loose, frequently turning over ruck ball which allowed for some very good phased between the forwards and backs. Heathfield won an EG lineout after 5 minutes on the EG 15m line (this was to be a recurrent theme throughout the match). This allowed Will Morris to charge into the heart of the EG midfield. Excellent quick ball freed the ever-present captain Jasper Wrenn who fought strongly to force his way over to score a well deserved try. This seemed to be the catalyst for Heathfield to cut loose and play some very attractive rugby.  The next try came from a scrum win against the head (another feature from the Heathfield pack throughout the match) allowing Fergus Diplock to make an excellent break in midfield. Quick recycled ball through 3 phases eventually saw Henry Jolliffe draw a tackle whilst making a fantastic pass to release George Bending on the wing to score in the corner.

Heathfield continued to play excellent rugby in the opponents half and were continually winning EG scrums and lineouts. Heathfield again won EG lineout ball on their 15m line and drove purposefully for the line. Surges from Will, Lewis Golding, Jasper and Henry Ross eventually saw Jamie Wardle scythe through a disrupted EG defence to score near the posts.
From the kick-off, Heathfield again drove EG back towards their own line. Another scrum win against the head 10m from the EG try-line allowed the excellent Zach Llamas to drive close to the line. The ball was recycled blind for Will Morris to crash over and score.

From the kick-off, Heathfield again pressurized EG with fast moving back play and excellent recycling from the forwards which stretched the home teams defence such that Henry Jolliffe was able to cut inside from fullback to score the fifth try of the half.

Harry Reilly converted 2 tries to leave the score 29 – 0 to Heathfield at half time.

The second half started much as the first left off but to the credit of the EG squad, they never gave in and indeed upped their commitment levels to cause Heathfield a few problems. However, from a scrum in midfield, Fergus received a wide pass from Harry and delayed just enough to draw the defence to pass onto to Gareth Lloyd running an excellent line at pace. Gareth was able to beat the last defender to score a well earned try with Harry Reilly converting.

The next try was arguably the best of the match. A scrum on the EG 22 was won with Harry running a set move for Gareth on the switch. However, the EG defence was taken in and Harry instead dummied to Gareth and was able to step in to score himself. He again converted taking the score to 43 – 0. It was agreed that the league match was ended but we would continue playing to full time.
This period saw EG play their best rugby and they forced Heathfield back to defend their try-line for the next 5 minutes. Heathfield gave away a series of scrums, lineouts and 6 penalties within 10m of their try-line but were able to resist the ferocious attempts of EG to score. Indeed, it was on the last of these penalties that a thumping tackle from Max Ellery forced turnover ball to Heathfield who proceeded to put together phased play to take them back in to the EG half. The remainder of the match was a series of “if only’s”. Brilliant support play from everyone, notably Freddy Jones, meant sweeping moves were sustained which took Heathfield 60 or 70m upfield at a time. It was literally only the final element (knock-on, forward pass or wrong decision) of these moves that prevented Heathfield scoring each time, thus allowing EG to clear their lines. However Heathfield were not to be denied a final try from Henry Jolliffe who again scythed through the EG defence to score his second of the match.

This was easily the best team performance of the season where both forwards and backs linked cohesively with the backs looking dangerous every time they got the ball. Although no official man of the match was made, special mention must go to Jamie Wardle for his tireless support play, aggressive defence and excellent lines of running throughout.

Final score was Heathfield 48, East Grinstead 0 (league result 40 – 0).

3/16/2009 10:47:51 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

A Frolic in the Sunshine

Heathfield U14   44     Vs.     5    Lewes U14

The squad arrived at the Lewes ground to be greeted by blue skies, “fairly” warm temperatures but with a stiff breeze tugging at the corner flags. This match was always going to be of “concern” to the coaches due to the previous league matches and the players involved so it was really good to have a turnout of 20 players.
Heathfield started the match with 2/3rds of the backrow missing and with only the scrum half being in the position played in the previous game, with a completely new back line. Heathfield started strongly and proceeded to play in a similar vein to the previous match against Haywards Heath. The forwards were in commanding form winning most of the contested ball. Excellent running from props Lewis Spencer and Alex Borg (back at prop from his 2 month stint in the backs) with commendable support from Will Morris and Henry Ross kept Lewes on the back foot. This allowed the backs to start moving the ball down the line and it was from one of these moves that Gareth Lloyd was able beat a couple of tackles and dot the ball down with Harry Reilly converting.
From the kick-off Heathfield took the ball rapidly back into the Lewes half and from a scrum against the head the ball again went down the backline to Gareth who was able to commit a number of tacklers. From the ensuing ruck, Lewis Golding picked up well to drive into the corner to score an unconverted try.
The third try of the day was from a very similar series of events. Great forward play released the backs who committed tacklers before releasing the ball for driving forward play where Henry Ross was able to pick-up and drive over the line for Harry to convert.
Again from the kick-off, Kieran Burdett fed Will Morris on a charge. The recycled ball went to Greg Pearce who galloped 35 metres up the touch-line only to be tackled when seemingly clear. The ball was recycled a couple of times before getting to Gareth who managed to evade a number of tackles in scoring his second of the day. This brought up the half-time whistle.

Half-Time: 24 – 0 to Heathfield.

In the second half, Heathfield made a number of changes which seemed to upset the command of the forwards and the change to both centers certainly disrupted the back-play. Indeed, it was the change to the centers after 5 minutes that allowed Lewes to break through some weak tackling there and score in the corner. This spurred on the Lewes side which proceeded to play their best rugby for the next 5 minutes, threatening the Heathfield line on a number of occasions. However, Heathfield maintained their discipline and weathered the storm with Harry Reilly beginning to join the line from full-back with much more effect.
After about 10 minutes, a series of rucks and excellent driving play saw Alex Borg break through to score. This was followed a few minutes later when Heathfield managed to turn over ball from a Lewes penalty. A series of drives saw captain Jasper Wrenn receive the ball in the line where he proceeded to show a good turn of speed in an arcing run to beat the covering defence and score in the corner.
Lewis Golding kept up his excellent work-rate and scored his second in the same corner as Jasper after some quick hands saw him receive the ball out wide to again beat the cover defence.
The final try, and the best team try, fell to Jack Koops after some (again) excellent work from the forwards. Great hands from both backs and forwards, brilliant ball retention and support play meant that when Jack received the scoring pass there were actually 4 other players, two of them forwards, who could have taken that pass to score.

Final score was Heathfield 44, Lewes 5.

3/9/2009 10:16:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

So near and yet....

Heathfield U14   14     Vs.     22    Haywards Heath U14

On a very pleasant spring Sunday, Heathfield entertained Haywards Heath in a league match that was billed as a county championship finalist decider - the winner would go on to meet Brighton in the County Finals in April as they would end up 2^nd in the Sussex ‘A’ League.

Heathfield started the match in fine form and took the game to HH. Great forward work meant that HH were always struggling to get any momentum. This was displayed to the fullest from an immense catch and drive from a Heathfield lineout on half-way where they managed to set up a rolling maul and proceeded to drive HH into their 22 before going into touch again. It was a scenario to be repeated a number of times as Heathfield had complete domination in the lineout most of the match. However, in a foray by HH into the Heathfield 22, a good break by their no 8 led to HH getting an overlap for one of their speedy wingers to score. This was converted extremely well by their fly-half.

Heathfield cam back at HH and maintained their dominance in the loose and set piece forward play. It was this dominance that forced HH to give away a number of repeated penalties for a multitude of infringements close to their line. After a number of attempts, Heathfield managed to take advantage of one of these penalties when big Will Morris went crashing over close to the posts to score a well deserved try on half time. Harry Reilly converted and the half-time whistle went.

All square at half-time: 7 – 7

The second half started much as the first had left off with the Heathfield forwards causing problems for HH and the HH backs causing problems for Heathfield. The game swung too and fro for a number of minutes until Heathfield gave away a very kickable penalty which the HH fly-half duly converted taking the score to 10 – 7. Heathfield came back strongly but it was an error by the referee (who otherwise had a very good game) that provided the next score. HH attacked up the middle and got to 10 metres from the Heathfield try-line before a crunching tackle from Henry Jolliffe dislodged the ball from the HH player straight towards a supporting Heathfield player who knocked on in trying to gather the ball. However, the referee missed the HH knock-on, spotted the Heathfield one and played advantage. HH executed the “play to the referees whistle” mantra to perfection and scored an unconverted try in the corner. This took the score to 15 – 7 to HH.

Heathfield again came back strongly and worked their way up towards the HH try-line. From a 5 metre scrum Heathfield exerted a phenomenal drive allowing scrum-half Keiran Burdett to squeeze in to score. Harry Reilly again converted taking the score to a nail-biting 15 – 14 to HH.

Heathfield still maintained strong pressure which was relieved primarily from some astute kick and chase moves and some good back play from HH. With 10 minutes left Henry Jolliffe latched on to a kick ahead and managed to fall on the ball first when over the try-line. However, the referee was unsighted and unfortunately could not award the try to Heathfield. More excellent play from both sides between the 22 metre lines followed until there was a break in play for an injury to the excellent Jamie Wardle which curtailed any more play from him. From the ensuing scrum, the HH no8 managed to break a couple of tackles to help set up what was to be the final converted try of the match. A raucus cheer from the HH players, coaches and spectators when the final whistle went was testament to the tight nature of the contest which was an excellent game of rugby to watch. Sadly Heathfield came out the wrong side of the score-line but played an excellent game of rugby against a large and committed HH side. Well done to both teams for a great advert for junior rugby.

Final score was Heathfield 14, Haywards Heath 22.

3/4/2009 9:37:27 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

HEATHFIELD WIN AGAIN

Heathfield U14   28     Vs.     10    Midhurst U14

Heathfield made the long journey to Midhurst in good spirits and were welcomed with one of the most scenic settings for a rugby match, the pitch being in the lee of the Cowdray castle ruins.

Heathfield started the match electing to play down the slope. With almost a full team available for the first time since Christmas, they played in the opening 10 minutes, some of the best rugby the squad has played all season. Great support, aggressive rucking and mauling and power in the scrums during this period meant that Heathfield were permanently camped in the Midhurst half. Indeed, this constant pressure led to Heathfield creating the first score when a missed tackle on Henry Jolliffe allowed him to break clear and eventually score under the posts.

Heathfield continued where they left off from the re-start and kept pressuring a well drilled and resilient Midhurst defence which thwarted Heathfield from scoring twice more with some timely tackles close to the line. However, more great work from the forwards with Lewis Golding and Will Morris to the fore in the loose, eventually forced a Midhurst defensive scrum in front of the posts. A timely win against the head allowed Zack Llamas to pick up and drive over for his first try of the season.

The half ended at 14 – 0 to Heathfield with Harry Reilly making both conversions.

Heathfield knew they had it all to do in the second half, playing up the hill and against an opposition that was beginning to assert pressure based on their defensive play. Heathfield made a number of changes to the pack which upset their rhythm a little but they still managed to score again after good play from the backs and some clinical finishing from Alex Borg who beat two tackles in the act of scoring. Harry Reilly again converted to take the score to 21 – 0 to Heathfield.

This try seemed to galvanise Midhurst into playing their best rugby of the match. Concerted pressure from their backs, in particular a rather large inside centre, and good hands found Heathfield short of cover twice to allow Midhurst to score two unanswered but unconverted tries and provide a tense finish to the match.

Heathfield managed to get their game back on track for the final 10 minutes, even with all the changes made and the injuries encountered. Again after good play and ground gained from the forwards, Harry Reilly was able to turn the Midhurst defence with an astute kick to the corner. Good chasing from Louis Chavannes forced the Midhurst fullback to clear hurriedly giving away a lineout 10 meters from their try-line. A catch and drive followed by some excellent mauling allowed captain (and man of the match) Jasper Wrenn to break clear and score another converted try to seal the match.

An excellent game, played in excellent spirit and hosted by a welcoming Midhurst squad meant that this is one fixture to keep for the future.

Final Score was Heathfield 28, Midhurst 10.

2/23/2009 10:27:51 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

COME AND PAMPER YOURSELF AT THE CLUB 13.2.09

Forgotten Valentines Day is round the Corner????  Don't know what to get for your loved one?  Can't be bothered to trawl round the shops for that special gift???

Then luckily Your Club has come to the rescue.  Not only can you buy sexy tasteful lingerie, delightful jewellery and loads of other lovely things - but you can also have a pint (or two), see your mates, and whatever match is on the TV - whilst you buy!! BRILLIANT!(Rumour has it that Ann Summers will also be there!)  So lads come to the pamper evening at the Clubhouse on Friday 13th Feb - where all your Valentine present problems could be solved.........

For the lovely ladies who would like to come along.....  see all of the above plus there will be waxing and nails and even tarrot card readings!

See you there on the 13th February - 7.30pm onwards

2/5/2009 9:49:53 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Junior Quiz Night Success at H&WRFC

Friday 30th January saw the clubhouse packed to overflowing for the Junior Quiz Night.  With 11 teams of 6 taking part the atmosphere was brilliant.  It was great to see teams from all age groups of the Junior Section of the club come together to make up this fantastic event. Over by the door there were the Beauties and the Beast (Mr. Wardle) ! who didn't put off the H3 Team and stuck over by the bar were the No Table Team - that's how busy it was!!

Despite the heckling from the bosterous crowd, the event was ably compared by Helen Goatcher and Alison Bending (they also put together the questions) and the evening was nicely rounded off with plates of chilli!

A great evening and over £200 made for the Club.  Thank you to everyone who took part to make the evening a success!

2/5/2009 9:29:37 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Rugby The Winner!

Heathfield U14 (24)  Vs.   (12)  Crawley U14

Heathfield U14 arrived at the Crawley ground with blue skies overhead but with freezing temperatures and a bitterly cold wind blowing. The ground itself was just about taking a stud but was marginal in places. The game however went ahead with all in agreement and Heathfield started the match playing into the strong wind that was blowing.

The match started fairly evenly with both sides testing each other’s defence in the forwards and in the backs. Heathfield just about edged these contests with good rucking technique and some fantastic breaks from the midfield by Alex Borg (playing his first match at centre from prop!) and Henry Jolliffe. These two played really well considering they were up against the best opposition centre pairing they have faced this season. Eventually, Heathfield broke clear with Henry J. beating a couple of tackles and getting a try in the corner. Much of the rest of the half was played in a similar manner with the Crawley backs using the wind advantage exceptionally well and putting continued pressure on the Heathfield back three, and the Heathfield forwards driving, rucking and mauling very well to gain back ground. Harry Reilly played well and mixed his game astutely at fly-half but was helped by a generally dominant scrum. Towards the end of the half, Crawley applied concerted pressure and capitalised on a few Heathfield mistakes to score and unconverted try in the corner.

Half-Time: Heathfield drawing 5 – 5.

The second half saw a number of changes to get everyone on and a few positional changes. Heathfield started to consistently get the better of Crawley, with Conor Ingham and Will Morris making good yards, but it was Lewis Golding (later to be named Man-of-the-Match) who continued superbly from where he left off in the 1st half making great yardage and generally causing chaos in the opposition ranks. Indeed it was from a couple of these charges into the opposition back line, and the setting up of good possession by Lewis, that allowed Henry Jolliffe to score a brace of converted tries in a couple of minutes. This took Heathfield clear of Crawley but, to the credit of the Crawley squad, they continued to play hard attractive rugby. Henry Jolliffe scored his fourth of the day following good play from Dean, Will and Greg on the touchline. After this, a bit of an error by the coaches in attempting to make a substitution for Henry (suffering from tonsillitis even though he did score 4 tries) at a penalty meant that Heathfield were out of position on a good attack by Crawley, allowing them to exploit the lack of a fullback to score a well worked converted try taking the score to 24 – 12.

The final whistle came with all parties involved commenting on what an extremely good, entertaining and well refereed game of rugby they had just watched. It was an excellent advertisement for junior rugby and we look forward to hosting Crawley in a return fixture next season.

2/3/2009 11:33:03 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

GREENIES GET OUT OF JAIL (AGAIN)

Heathfield U14    10   vs     5    Pulborough U14

Familiar headline? Read on...

Another Sunday, another league match. With the holiday season over and a cancelled match against Bromley due to weather, Heathfield went into this game having not played since the league match against Crowborough in mid-December.

Heathfield arrived at Pulborough with a number of players out injured or unavailable and a match squad of 20 players with pretty much the whole back division either new or playing out of place. However this didn’t show as Heathfield started with a bang with Alex Borg scoring in the corner after about 1 minute of phased play from the kick-off.

The rest of the half was dominated by some very poor refereeing by a referee who was either unwilling or unable to control the rucks and simply did not understand what the offside line was. Pulborough players were continually smashing into the side of rucks, nowhere near the “back-door” that they were meant to be attacking and perpetually picking up the ball in the middle of rucks without being penalised. (Apparently I am unaware of the rules and this is actually allowed - I SHALL NOT be coaching our players to do this!). Heathfield fought well, against the odds, and had some flashes of good play but to be brutally honest, let Pulborough off the hook by allowing themselves to become embroiled in the general shoddy nature of the game. They did, however, manage to score another try in the same corner by Jamie Wardle.

Half-time and Heathfield lead 10 – 0.

The 2^nd half started much as the first left off. Very little changed except Heathfield were playing into the wind. More “unusual” refereeing kept play very fractured and the Pulborough number 12 was having a field day, often 4 or 5 metres offside and on one occasion, putting in a tackle on Harry Reilly when he was actually still running BACK to get to an on-side position on the pitch after having made a tackle earlier in the play – fantastic! During this period Pulborough managed to put some good play together and concerted pressure found them scoring in the same corner as Heathfields two tries. Very few opportunities to either side for the rest of the half meant that this game, although well fought by both sides, was really meandering to an end.

However, there was one last drama to be played out. With the match time over Heathfield kept pressing for a try and were camped on the Pulborough try-line for about 2 minutes – a simple tap into touch would have ended the match. A dropped pass by Heathfield and fly-hack by Pulborough resulted in a straight leg-race between a Pulborough centre and Henry Jolliffe. Neither player was able to get away and after 80 metres of pulling, tugging and fly-hacking, Henry put in a football style tackle from behind on the Pulborough center who went tumbling into the turf. The referee apparently said that there was so much pulling of jerseys and shoving during the chase that he could have given a penalty to either side (I personally thought that the only decision was a penalty try but hey!... I didn’t realise that you were allowed to pick up in a ruck!). In the end the decision was to blow for the end of time!

Final Score and Heathfield win 10 – 5.

1/19/2009 1:28:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Choccs Away for the H&WRFC U14's

Wednesday night the clubhouse was a hive of activity as the U14s had their last training session of the year followed by a chocolate fountain.  Thanks go the parents for bringing along a mountain of fruit, biscuits and sweets - the boys soon dived in to cover them (and themselves) in chocolate!  It was great to see Fergus all in one piece, sporting a rather fetching sling, which luckily didn't hamper his energetic chocolate eating. 

Thanks also to Guy, Brady, Mike and Jan whose enthusium and commitment to the team is amazing!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND BEST WISHES TO ALL FOR 2009!

12/18/2008 3:02:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Greenies get out of Jail!

Heathfield U14  12  V  10   Crowborough U14

Another league match for the Greenies and, for a change this season, it wasn’t snowing, sleeting, hailing or raining with a force 10 gale blowing at the same time! However, it was very cold and the pitch, although eminently playable, was wet and muddy in patches after the previous days storms.

Heathfield were fully aware of the tough test ahead of them as these 2 teams have fought out draws over the past 2 seasons. However, Heathfield started strongly and dominated much of the play for the first 10 minutes, a period which culminated in George Bending scoring a really good try in the right corner after some slick handling in the backs.

Unfortunately, this seemed to signal a period of 10 minutes when Heathfield became very lethargic and were bettered to the breakdowns and failed to contest at rucks and mauls. Indeed Heathfield were turned over at 8 rucks in good position during this time and finally gave away a penalty in front of their own posts which Crowborough duly converted. After the restart, and from a line-out in the Crowborough half, a series of bad decisions and poor handling from Heathfield, somehow provided Henry Jollife with the opportunity to dart over to score a converted try close to the posts! A few minutes later, Lewis Golding had the opportunity to settle everyones nerves when he broke through a couple of tackles when over the try-line but failed to ground the ball!

So, half-time came with Heathfield leading (and just about justifiable so) 12 – 3.

The second half was to be a rearguard action for the most part from Heathfield. A mixture of luck, good tackling in the Heathfield midfield (Henry Jolliffe and Fergus Diplock) and occasional good rucking by the forwards kept Crowborough at bay until finally Crowborough managed to breach the Heathfield defence and score a converted try close to the posts.

This led to a tense final 10 minutes where Crowborough threw everything they had at Heathfield. During this period, centre Fergus Diplock was seriously injured in making a tackle and was taken away to hospital with what was later to be diagnosed as a broken shoulder socket. Our best wishes go out to Fergus for a speedy recovery. Get well soon Fergus as we need you back commanding the midfield again!

After play restarted, and with less than a minute to go, Heathfield gave away a penalty in their own 22 about 10 metres from touch. Crowborough decided to kick the penalty but narrowly missed and the final whistle went moments later.

Final score was 12 – 10 to Heathfield.

12/15/2008 2:18:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Eastbourne on the rebound

Heathfield U14s  61     Eastbourne U14s  5

 On a delightfully sunny Sunday at Waldron, Heathfield on the rebound from an extremely disappointing loss to Brighton the previous week, completely took apart their visitors from Eastbourne.

Eastbourne scored the first try however, after only a few minutes but from then on they never really managed to get into the game.

It was strong running by the forwards, particularly Alex Borg, Greg Pearce, Zach Llamas, Conor Ingram and Jamie Wardle, who set up the platform.

Heathfield scored 11 tries in all, the pick of which came from Henry Jolliffe with a 95 yard run brushing off at least half a dozen tackles before touching down for one of his four tries. Fly half Gareth Lloyd had an aggressive game and scored two tries with direct running, Jamie Wardle added one, following 7 phases of driving play by the forwards. Alex Borg scored a typical try being the most mobile prop in the county, as his pace was too much for the defence to handle. Flanker Tim Farrell also scored one after a period of sustained pressure close to the visitors line. It was a welcome return for wing George Bending, back after injury, who scored a try using his brilliant lines of running and change of direction.

The biggest cheer of the day went to the final try scorer and “Man of the Match” Conor Ingram whose pick and driving play was superb and caused the Eastbourne fringe defenders problems all game. Tackle of the day went to winger Louis Chavanne, stopping the Eastbourne attack in its tracks.

A good performance by the whole team whose game plan was to enjoy themselves which they duly did. Next week they entertain Lewes on the main pitch.

11/25/2008 7:22:02 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield win in the mire

Uckfield U14   0   V   48   Heathfield U14

Heathfield arrived at the Uckfield ground in driving rain and a howling wind. So what else is new for this season so far!!! The squad was also short of 8 members as a series of ailments, injuries and unavailability left just enough players for Heathfield to field a team.

Uckfield started the match by kicking short into the wind for Jasper Wrenn to field. A series of driving mauls and rucks interspersed with direct back play took Heathfield to a scrum 15m from the Uckfield line where a quick heel allowed Harry Reilly to provide a delightfully delayed pass to Fergus Diplock to burst 2 tackles on his way to opening the scoring against his old club. For the next 15 minutes Heathfield totally dominated the game with excellent driving play from the forwards, which allowed the backs, particularly George Bending playing at centre for the first time this season, to run freely and run in tries from Jack Koops and Andrew Dunn on the wings and for Kieran Burdett to snipe around the fringes on his way to a blind side try. Indeed, being super critical at this time you could say that Heathfield squandered at least 2 further scoring opportunities through lack of communication and a partial reluctance to make the final scoring pass!

The half drew to a close with Gareth Lloyd scoring 2 excellent tries in quick succession. The first was from good support play where he joined the line at pace to receive the final pass where his speed took him past the last 2 defenders. The second came directly from the restart when Max Ellery fielded the kick-off and drove powerfully into the Uckfield forwards and was then able to set up good ruck ball for the backs. Gareth was on the end of a sweeping backs move that saw him scoring in the opposite corner to his first.

Harry Reilly converted 3 of the 6 tries to give a half time score of 36 – 0.

The weather conditions deteriorated (if that was possible) and for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half there was no further scoring. Heathfield were generally in control but the Uckfield forwards contested strongly for possession in this period. Heathfields power and precision eventually told when, from an Uckfield throw-in on their own 5-metre line, Conner Ingham was able to pressure the receiver into delivering bad ball from which Alex Borg was able to score. Alex closed out the scoring late in the 2nd half when he burst through two tackles to score close to the post.

Harry Reilly converted this last try to leave Heathfield with a comfortable 48 – 0 win.
Special mention must go to Dean Pennell for excellent technical work in the loose and to Henry Ross who did a fine job playing out of position at no.8

11/23/2008 6:54:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

HEATHIELD BLAST OPEN COASTAL DEFENCES.

Hove RFC U14  5       Heathfield & Waldren RFC U14 15

Perfect playing conditions greeted Heathfield’s trip to the South coast in an important League match against a much fancied and well drilled Hove team that has always provided a challenging game.

Right from the start, Hove threw down the gauntlet and unleashed their back line who demonstrated excellent ball handling skills and the home team notched up the first score of the day with a break into Heathfield’s corner.  Jasper Wren, who had an exemplorary captain’s game, gathered up his troops to lead the comeback and from now on Heathfield’s forwards took the game by the scruff of the neck, gave it a good shake and started to dominate the game. For Heathfield it was to become an attacking forward’s game with their backs providing excellent defensive cover.

Jamie Wardle, Jasper Wren and Zack Lamas demonstrated a new confidence together and were to be found at the thick of all the action. Alex Borg and Greg Pearce also used their size to seize the ball at every opportunity and Max Ellery’s lineout targeting always found his man. It was from a ruck, fifteen feet from Hove’s line that we saw Heathfield’s first score and appropriately, prop Adam Davies aggressively used his stature to slam the ball down for the first points.

Harry Reilly used his boot with surgical precision to keep pushing the ball back towards Hove’s line and for the second half of the game Heathfield set up camp in Hove’s 22. Hove, however, always looked threatening and their backs were constantly poised for a counter attack. Centres Fergus Diplock and Henry Jolliffe both had sound games using their pace when appropriate to open up Hove’s defence and wings George Bending and Jack Koops both committed good attacking runs. Gareth Lloyd also played a good tactical game at full back and put in some notable tackles.

Heathfield’s second try unfolded from a ruck fifteen feet from Hove’s line when Henry Ross ripped the ball and once he had a sniff of the line nothing was going to stop him, he used his considerable reach to get the ball down much to the team’s delight. Harry Reilly deftly converted. The game was effectively sewn up by Harry Reilly seven minutes from the whistle when he threaded a perfect drop kick through the Hove posts to take the game out of the home side’s reach.

The Heathfield forwards played a blinding game, dominant in the scrum, determined in the rucks and unbeatable in support. It was a game played in excellent spirit by both teams and the final whistle was greeted enthusiastically by everyone on the touch line!

11/17/2008 6:30:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

HEATHFIELD TAKE THEIR EYE OFF THE BALL!

Medway RFC U14  36      Heathfield & Waldren RFC U14    17

This was a friendly game against a very useful Medway side that was well drilled with a big centre and swift full back that Medway used with great precision to carve up the Heathfield defence.

Heathfield took the game to the Rochester side in the first few minutes and the first try was the result of a ruck on the Medway line picked up and touched down by scrum half Freddie Jones, duly converted by Gareth Lloyd.

This seemed to galvanise Medway who went on to dominate the rest of the game with Heathfield unable to put in the important game saving tackles and this must be an area of concern for the Greens. Lewis Golding, in his debut game, used his power and strength to notch up Heathfield’s second try and the side started to get their act together. Henry Jolliffe used his speed for a superb run, brushing off the Medway defence to secure Heathfield’s final try.

Medway had set the bar too high for a resurgent Heathfield who started to apply the right angles in the scrum and in fact were to dominate the forward play in the last fifteen minutes.

The lessons Heathfield might take from the game, tackle hard, support the player with the ball and ruck over the ball. It was however, an entertaining game played with excellent spirit throughout.

11/9/2008 7:25:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Chichester RFC U14 0 Heathfield and Waldron RFC U14 21

Light rain and greasy conditions set the scene for Heathfield's League match against home team Chichester, a useful side with a number of big players who looked threatening and well drilled.

 
From the outset Chichester piled the pressure on Heathfield, with a scrum that was fired up and a fly half happy to kick to gain ground. Heathfield didn't help by conceding ground with a some basic errors that resulted in Chichester further taking the advantage but throughout the onslaught the Heathfield defence remained resolute with Jasper Wrenn playing an excellent game as captain, focusing his forwards and frustrating the galvanised Chichester side.

 
The match turned on one glorious try, twenty minutes into the game, that began on Heathfield's own 22 yard line where the forwards turned a ruck and through fast ball handling skills and fantastic support the ball worked its way along the line to Centre Henry Jolliffe who eluded Chichester to use his pace to touch down under the posts after a 60 metre run.
Harry Reilly duly converted the first of three conversions on the day.

 
This try sparked Heathfield into a confident display for the rest of the game and Henry Ross, aided by Greg Pearce, Max Ellery and Connor Ingham, scored a classic forward's try after a long tussle on the Chichester line.

From now on the game was to go Heathfield's way with the whole team doing their bit and Harry Reilly's deft use of the boot peeling open the Chichester defence for Jack Koops and Henry Jolliffe to use their pace to get attack the corner. Jamie Wardle played a massive game, he was the first at every breakdown and dominated the loose ball with great skill and determination.

 
The final try was once again the result of aggressive running close to Chichester's Posts. Reilly committing two Chichester defenders before delivering a lovely pop pass to Fergus Diplock who applied the coup de grace with a powerful lunge to score the final try of the match. Gareth Lloyd, Zack Llamas and Alex Borg were all noticeable in the effort that they put into this very satisfying win and Kieran Burdett distributed the ball well.

 
All in all it was a delight to watch, excellent rugby was played by both sides but on the day, the better team won.

10/27/2008 1:09:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

HEATHFIELD RATCHET UP THE PRESSURE

Heathfield and Waldron RFC U14 50      Lewes RFC U14 0

For a change the weather was kind for an exciting game that saw Heathfield take on a large and fast Lewes side. From the word go Heathfield used their forwards to batter Lewes and Alex Borg was instrumental in most of the attacking moves, always ably supported by Zack Lamas, Max Ellery and Adam Davies. The forward play was to provide the foundations for the backs to take the game to Lewes.

Alex Borg opened the account from a ruck on Lewes's 22 yard line, he grabbed the ball and used his strength to touch down by the posts and this was to be the first of the Heathfield tally. Lewes were not a pushover and they always looked threatening with a big pack that was happy to run the ball and two very swift centres that ran some excellent angles taking the game to Heathfield and one area that must have disappointed Heathfield was the amount of ball lost to Lewes in rucks, an area that will no doubt be looked at!

The home team did however starve Lewes of the ball and this was the basis for the backs to pressure Lewes. Henry Jolliffe's pace and Harry Reilly's deft kicking were to prove decisive and Gareth Llloyd at Fly Half played an astute game. Gabriel Davies, Louis Chavannes and Fergus Diplock showed excellent ball handling skills with George Bending on the wing always looked threatening. Later in the game, Jasper Wrenn and Henry Ross added some sizzle, Jamie Wardle put in some exceptional tackles to contain Lewes and Connor Ingham continued his rampaging style.

It was a great game held in good spirit and Lewes never let their heads go down right up to the final whistle.

In addition to Heathfield's tries scored by Alex Borg (2) and Henry Jollifee (4),  Zack Lamas and Freddie Jones also added to the scoreboard. Harry Reilly very ably converted 5.

10/20/2008 10:48:50 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

H&W RFC U14 0 Brighton U14 5

A MORAL VICTORY FOR HEATHFIELD U14s

Heathfield held their first League game of the season in driving rain and miserable playing conditions against a bigger Brighton side. This turned out to be the game of games and Heathfield dominated play for 80% of the game. Only determined Brighton defence stopped the Greens from adding to the scoreboard but the real story was in the grit and determination played by the Heathfield  side that was unfortunate in just not being able to apply the final execution and despite the conditions, their tackling and passing were consistently good

Much of the play was with the forwards and Henry Ross, Jasper Wrenn, Alex Borg, Jamie Wardle and Zak Lamas applied constant pressure on Brighton’s pack, especially when the ball was loose and the result was Heathfield constantly camped in Brighton’s half.

Harry Reilly’s kicking was once again sublime and his boot constantly took Heathfield forwards, relieving any pressure points. Henry Jolliffe’s pace once again was put to good use but the conditions meant he could not use his true speed.

A slipped tackle allowed the big Brighton No8 over to cross the line but this was the only score in an incredibly tight game that saw Brighton finish as the lucky winners!

The game bodes well for Heathfield. Beware, this lot are determined!

10/11/2008 10:52:39 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

2008/2009 Season

9/1/2008 4:40:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

U14's 2007 - 2008 Results

20/4/08: Tunbridge Wells B (H): 5 – 0 (W)

20/4/08: Crowborough (H): 34 – 0 (W)

13/4/08: Sunderland (A): 41 - 5 (L)

13/4/08: Old Christians (A): 5 – 7 (W)

12/4/08: Presentation Boys College, Cork (A): 74 - 10 (L)

30/3/08: Eastbourne A/B (H): 0 – 48 (L)

16/3/08: Uckfield (H): 0 – 39 (L)

9/3/08: Crowborough (A): 10 – 22 (W)

24/2/08: Tonbridge Judds A/B (A) 57-14 (L)

17/2/08: Westcombe Park A/B (H): 19 – 33 (L)

10/2/08: Lewes (H): 19 - 19 (D)

20/1/08: Old Reigatians (H): 7 – 76 (L)

13/1/08: Midhurst (A): 0 – 31 (L)

16/12/07: Seaford (A): 5 – 48 (W)

2/12/07: Horsham (H): 29 – 5 (W)

25/11/07: Hove A/B (A): 51 – 17 (L)

18/11/07: Midhurst (H): 15 – 10 (W)

4/11/07: Tunbridge Wells B (A): 48 –15 (L)

28/10/07: Cranbrook A/B (H): 0 - 46 (L)

14/10/07: v Lewes (A): 18-10 (L)

7/10/07: v Hastings (H): 69-0 (W)

23/9/07: v Hellingly (A): 0 – 40 (W)

4/20/2008 2:06:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Heathfield U14's 59 Edenbridge U14's 7

Heathfield opened their 2006/2007 league season with an emphatic win over Edenbridge (playing in the Sussex Leagues for the first time), in a well fought game on the Cross in Hand pitch.

Heathfield started their scoring with a well-taken try from Ed Koops (his first league try for the club), which was closely followed by a fine individual try from prop Fraser Goatcher.

A further try by No.8 Alex Lester, for the home side ensured that Heathfield still held an 8-point advantage after an Edenbridge try and conversion.

The Heathfield forwards worked extremely well in both the set pieces and the rucks and mauls winning most of the ball to ensure that they continued to press home their advantage.

Good play by scrumhalf Rikki Zeitlin always ensured that Heathfield’s backs kept Edenbridge busy. Inside centre Jack Warren did some darting runs into the opponents half, with good support play coming from Alex Robbins, Owen Lewis and Caspian Kingdon.

Stand-off Oli Stables had a quieter game than normal but still managed to run in four tries, and his intelligent kicking over the Edenbridge backs helped to maintain the home side’s advantage.

Three further tries by Fraser Goatcher brought his tally to 4, the last one coming from a fine solo run by Ed Koops following an Edenbridge kick-off; the 2nd row forward ran from his own 10 metre line well into the opponents 22 before off-loading a fine pass to Fraser Goatcher, who was in close support, and who ran over the line to score.

A try from Caspian Kingdon, outside centre, and conversions from Jack Warren and fullback Freddie Long gave the home team a well-earned result.

11/5/2006 5:17:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield & Waldron U14 Fixtures 2006/2007

01/10/06

Hastings (a)

15/10/06

Shoreham (a)

22/10/06

Bognor (h)

05/11/06

Edenbridge (h)

12/11/06

Pulborough (h) 12.00

19/11/06

Hove B (h)

10/12/06

Crawley (a)

21/01/07

Worthing (h)

28/01/07

Hastings (h)

11/02/07

Crowborough (a)

18/02/07

Lewes (a)

25/02/07

Cranbrook (h)

04/03/07

Pulborough (a)

25/03/07

Shoreham (h)

01/04/07

Eastbourne

15/04/07

League Final (a)

7/31/2006 4:53:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

U14's 2006/2007

We will be training on Thursday evenings, starting at 18:00 hrs until 19:30 hrs.  Please meet at the clubhouse.

Our aim is to have some fun and get fit, ready for the coming season, by developing a squad of players in all aspects of the game of Rugby Union

Players of all abilities are more than welcome.

For more details please contact: -

David Stables – Head Coach, on 01435 867 485 or 07832 001 661

E-mail address: david@stables.me.uk

7/8/2006 4:47:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

U14's 2006/2007

Please send any items for inclusion on the coming season, training times, contact information etc to nick.green@hwrfc.co.uk

7/7/2006 11:14:02 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

U14's Paris Tour

4/24/2006 7:11:29 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Heathfield & Waldron U14's 28 Hastings & Bexhill U14's 12

In their last league fixture of the season, before leaving for Paris on their Easter Tour, Heathfield took the game to the visitors right from the off. Playing in very windy conditions the backs found it difficult to give accurate passes especially into the wind but as both sides got used to the conditions, the play improved.

The home team pinned Hastings down in their own 22 and from good hands down the back line, wing Peter Phair got within 2 yards of scoring. From an ensuing maul, it was hooker Tom Keylock who drove over for the opening score. Minutes later from a scrum, half back Will Chipchase made a break fed to Jeremy Burdett, through centres Imran Iqbal and Theo Grant before feeding to wing Nic Evans. His top gear screamed him around the outside to score a wonderful try.

The momentum firmly with Heathfield, a surging run by flanker Larry Platt set up a ruck, the clearing out particularly by Ollie Hancock and Jake Tyler was strong and it was 2nd row Ben Darcy who drove over for the third try. Heathfield’s full back Alex Scott returned any clearance kicks with interest and had a sound game throughout.

The half ended 15-0 and at this point Heathfield were possibly too overconfident as Hastings came straight back as their fly-half made a break and fed on to the full back to pull a try back. Soon after Heathfield managed to put together some pressure of their own, forcing Hastings to concede a penalty, which Greg Salmon duly converted.

The Heathfield backs started to show their paces as centre Grant then used his size and pace to burst through several would-be tacklers to score. Hastings then kicked long using the strong wind and from a lineout Heathfield were unable to control the tapped ball and the visitors flanker secured possession to score which was well converted from wide out.

Man of the match Larry Platt then took the ball from close to the half way line and burst up the field unstoppable to score a fine solo try to wrap up the game.

Report by: U14 Management

3/19/2006 3:19:42 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Tonbridge Judd's U14's 0 Heathfield & Waldron U14's 8

3/12/2006 12:49:22 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Eastbourne U14's 5 Heathfield & Waldron U14's 5

Heathfield had so many chances in the 1st half to kill the game off and Eastbourne had two close attempts at scoring in either corner, in the second half, that in the end a draw was probably a fair result. It was a first return to their old club for Ben Darcy and Elliott Marshall so the game was very important for them.

Playing uphill in the 1st half Heathfield took the game to the home side and squandered chance after chance through selfish play, poor handling and resolute defence. The breakthrough had to come eventually and it was off fourth phase when the ball was recycled once again. Fly half Jeremy Burdett's miss pass found flanker Dayle Hollands darted in at the corner. Heathfield normally command at scrum time but found the Eastbourne pack a handful and honours were even. The lineout was fairly contested also, but it was Heathfield’s back row once again that gave the visitors the edge. Matt Halls made good ground with his carrying but his teamates were unable to support him so many attacks petered out. Captain Imran Iqbal was like a man possessed tackling anything in an opposition shirt.  Wing Peter Phair tackling also caught the eye and went close to scoring but the pass was dropped. A fantastic move saw a lovely timed pass from Campbell Lacey find prop Shrek Watkins on the crash ball and he gained 20 yards.

The half ended with Heathfield holding onto a narrow lead and the visiting support expected more as they now played downhill with the wind. However, it was Eastbourne who had the fiery start and began to put some good runs together and nearly scored had their winger not just taken out the corner flag. Heathfield’s impact player Larry Platt came on and began to create havoc within the Eastbourne forwards. Full back Alex Scott made a lovely break through the middle of the Eastbourne defence but he was eventually dragged down.

The tackle of the day went to Heathfield’s hooker Tom Keylock who completely stopped the Eastbourne centre in his tracks as he was driving to the line.

Steadily the home team regained control and the pressure began to mount. With only 5 minutes remaining Eastbourne burst down the touchline and scored right in the corner. They could have won the game a minute later had it not been for a try saving tackle by wing Kyle van Rinsberg.

The match was superbly refereed and the spectators commented on the thoroughly exciting and thrilling game they had watched.

Report by U14 Management 

3/5/2006 1:04:08 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield & Waldron U14's 27 East Grinstead U14's 7

Another tremendous display of passion and commitment saw Heathfield brush aside their visitors from East Grinstead as they pressurised them from the first whistle to the last.

From the kick-off the visitors found themselves in their own 22 and a wayward pass saw flanker Dayle Hollands scoop up the loose ball and dive in to score. Minutes later number 8 Matt Halls peeled of the back of a maul and darted through a gap to put Heathfield 10 points up. Captain Imran Iqbal had an inspirational game and lead from the front and was deservedly named "Man of the Match". His running lines were superb and good field position was gained. The tackling of the side has improved over the last few months and Ben O'Connell put in a super hit to halt a Grinstead attack in its tracks.

The visitors struggled to gain any platform to work from. At scrums the solid Heathfield front row of Oliver Hancock, Tom Keylock and Pudsie Pring, gave their opposite numbers problems and at line outs, although East Grinstead won more possession, Heathfield's back row of Salmon, Halls and Hollands were in amongst them quickly. The hard working second rows of Jake Tyler and Ben Darcy had tackled themselves to a standstill and were tactically substituted at Half time for Larry Platt and Robert Horsfall-Turner who also both had solid games. A lovely back move involving centre Campbell Lacey and wing Peter Phair early in the second half, resulted in Salmon bursting up the touchline to score giving one try each for the back row.

With heavy rain it was amazing that Heathfield were able to play such fluid rugby in atrocious conditions but they continued right to the end. Fly half Jeremy Burdett set up an attack from half way. The ruck was formed and replacement scrum half Will Chipchase sent out a wonderful pass to Burdett who cleverly fed Dayle Hollands through a gap, beating three players and scoring his second try under the posts, thus making the conversion easy for Halls to slot.

Elliott Marshall's clever little darting break put Heathfield deep into Grinstead territory and following a clearing kick, fielded by Alex Scott, he ghosted his way through several would-be tacklers to score the final try. East Grinstead well deserved their only try from their inside centre very late on but it was too little, too late and Heathfield ran out comfortable and worthy winners.

Brady Burdett aged 42

IMMENSELY PROUD COACH!

2/19/2006 11:25:12 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Crowborough U14's 5 Heathfield & Waldron U14's 38

Heathfield travelled to Crowborough having narrowly beaten them in a home friendly a month ago and ran out thoroughly convincing winners through their hard working and aggressive pack. Matthew Halls had an outstanding game scoring 5 of the 6 tries scored using his strength and speed.

The scrums were relatively evenly matched but Crowborough were never really allowed to create any phases as Captain Imran Iqbal and Theo Grant in the centres snuffed out any attack. The back row of Greg Salmon, Dayle Hollands and Halls were everywhere and this resulted in the visitors easily containing their Crowborough counterparts.

Once in possession Heathfield rucked exceptionally well keeping the ball for long periods. Hooker Tom Keylock often found himself in midfield and linked well with the backs who all played intelligently.

Second rows Ben Darcy and Jake Tyler put in well over their fair share of tackles and protected the possession well. The distribution of the half backs Will Chipchase and Jeremy Burdett with Elliott Marshall in the second half was also key, as this ensured that the good ball was not wasted.

The first half was evenly contested but Crowborough had used up energy reserves by chasing the game too hard early on and Heathfield - using their substitutes well - ensured dominance throughout. Subs included Larry Platt in the second row and ‘Pudsey’ Pring at Prop, both of whom had aggressive driving games tacking the ball on.

Clever kicks into space behind the defence by wing Peter Phair kept the defence guessing. The backs were loving the glut of possession and it was Grant who scored way out on the left following a fine move, who stopped Halls getting all the scores. Burdett, Salmon and Halls (2) slotted the conversions.

Heathfield travel to Seaford on Sunday for their first friendly between the two clubs.

Report by: U14 Management

2/5/2006 8:25:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Hellingly U14's 14 HWRFC U14's 51

Heathfield playing without their 5 Sussex squad players, away on training, travelled the short trip to Hellingly. Unfortunately Hellingly only had 9 players. Heathfield lent the home side 4 players from their squad of 17 and enjoyed a fast and open 13-a-side match.

Captained by fly half Jeremy Burdett for the first time, the ball was run wide at every opportunity. Fantastic dive pass service for him from Will Chipchase saw tries came at a steady rate.

But it was the four players who had not yet scored for Heathfield who took the glory. Pacey wing Kyle van Rensburg bagged two.  Mobile prop Thomas "Pudsie" Pring also got 2. One of which saw him charge down a clearance kick, gather and run in.  Other wing Josh Eaton scored a clever try, cutting in of the left and using clever footwork to go in under the posts. Ben Darcy and his total commitment to the cause, earned him a well-deserved score rounding off a good move.

Other tries came from Oliver Hancock who scored two tries, unfortunately one was for Hellingly when he was playing for them. Greg Salmon smashed two Hellingly players near half way with aggressive tackling, collected the loose ball and then beat 3 players for pace to score under the posts.

Larry Platt also collected a hat trick of tries one of which he ran right across the pitch and then back again, leaving in his wake a mass of flailing arms and would be tacklers.

Other mentions must go to Jake Tyler playing at No.8 worked tirelessly all game and Luke Deacon playing in his 1st game for Heathfield was everywhere.

Heathfield travel to Crowborough next Sunday for their next League fixture of the season.

      Report by: U14 Management

1/29/2006 3:11:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)