A strong and combative Hove B squad started the match well straight from the kick off. However Heathfield were up for the task and after some fine defensive work they managed to gain possession of the ball and then went on through the backs to skilfully switch play from one side of the pitch to the other whilst making good forward progress over the half way line. By the time the ball got out to Toby Warren the Hove defence were only able to follow him over the line & watch whilst he touched down for the first Heathfield try just on 5 minutes.

Another determined attack & sustained pressure from Heathfield was starting to tell on the Hove defence & sure enough they gave away a penalty about 8m out. Heathfield No 8 David Bayly took a quick tap and despite his own forwards struggling to keep up with him he forced his way over the line on his own.

Unfortunately the windy conditions were not favouring the kicker & despite getting a good line on the conversion attempt Mathew Barber was unable to get the range required to get the ball over the bar.

By now the Heathfield confidence was growing and the pack were winning most of the scrums. Front row players Daniel Halls, Ben Smith and Jack Fellows all had fine games, each making the hard yards in typical driving fashion. They were ably supported & pushed on by locks Reece Webb and Sam Keylock and the back row of George & James Wardle with David Bayly at No. 8 is starting to become a formidable. With quality forward play Scrum Half Harry Smith was able to get quick ball out of scrums & breakdown situations which only increased the pressure on the Hove defence who had to resort to touching down behind their own line to prevent Heathfield adding to the score.

The first half finished with winger Ollie Kent temporarily on the touch line after a minor injury sustained during one of his regular lightning runs down the wing.

The second half saw Hove come out fighting to attempt to get back in the match. The game seemed to be more evenly balanced with Hove having more success in the scrum although Heathfield’s extra pre-match lineout practice seemed to be paying off with them contesting well to win possession on many occasions. Just as it was looking likely that the match would finish 10 – 0 with neither side managing to break through Toby Warren charged down an attempted clearance by Hove on the 10 m line. Second half substitute Sam Saunters dropped on the ball & secured possession for the Heathfield side with No 8 David Bayly picking up & driving over in typical bullish style.

Mathew Barber again got a good line on the kick, but was unable to make the range required to convert the try.

This was an all round good performance by a squad who are now starting to put together some good exciting Rugby with some excellent handling and creative play. Those players who go to complete the full line up, Ben Maltman, Bruno Halit, Gregory Johnson, Joseph Hastings, Oscar Lacey & Spencer Heath are all well worthy of a mention.

This was the first time that Heathfield have got the better of any Hove team at this level and such is the strength in depth at Hove in the U13 age group that their B team are a match for most other sides on their day. So overall a very satisfying result and one which adds to a solid start to fifteen man rugby for this squad with one defeat and three victories in the league and all the wins secured without conceding a single point.

Head Coach Mike Barber was a happy man at the end, but in a typical show of MB dedication to the cause, could still see areas where improvement is required in order to achieve the squad’s full potential.

Report by Richard Smith

1/14/2007 5:53:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)