Sussex Rugby - Heathfield & Waldron RFC - Bognor 3rd XV 24 - Heathfield & Waldron Development XV 5

	Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Bognor 3rd XV 24 - Heathfield & Waldron Development XV 5

Cup matches offer the hope of glory and it was in this spirit that the Second team set off from one of the most Easterly clubs in Sussex to play one of the most Westerly. The journey there was uneventful and relaxing for most players which turned out to be a critical factor as Heathfield arrived later than expected and were given 15 minutes to get changed and ready to play. The warm up was short and inadequate and minds were clearly not focused enough when the whistle blew.

This inadequacy was laid bare and exploited by early aggression from Bognor. Their line up included a large and quick back row and a big centre all with a liking for direct running at the defence. For the first 15 minutes of the game Heathfield did not get to grips with this modest ploy and the forwards in particular were guilty of missing tackles. Two tries were conceded during this period (one out wide and one under the posts) without any threat being posed to the opposition. The Heathfield forwards struggled to win any clean ball for a potent looking Heathfield back line with a misfiring lineout and a scrum looking under pressure. When scraps were won Moss looked lively in his last game for the club before returning home to New Zealand.

The threat of a rout was there when a Bognor player carried the ball 30 yards through 3 or 4 weak tackles to score. A response was demanded and slowly Heathfield raised their game. Bob Toghe and Jim Cummings raised the level of performance in the forwards with more aggressive running and tackles started to fell opponents. Heathfield were coming alive at last. With the exception of the set pieces the rest of the half was pretty even and the half ended with the score at 17-0.

'Captain for the day' Duncan Hesketh was talked out of taking himself off but reorganised the scrum to try and win better set piece ball.

Heathfield received the restart kick and immediately produced a tight and focused rolling maul that gained 15 metres and raised spirits. The ensuing scrum showed that the changes had worked and from that point on the game was very competitive. Jim Cummings matched the Bognor no. 8 break for break and found the support with him something that had been lacking in the first half. This created time and space for the backs to thrive and show their skills.

With quicker ball (thank you to the excellent Mike Jaques) Heathfield began to menace the Bognor line. Oli Hearsey being bundled into touch only a metre short from the try line on the right side, Pete Phillipou held up short in the centre and the hardworking Moss tackled close to the line on the left. This was more like it and surely Heathfield would claw their way back into the game.

It was not all one-way traffic and Bognor used a powerful boot to clear lines to good effect on more than one occasion. They also battered away with ball in hand and Jack Bailey produced a great try saving tackle when all looked lost on one occasion.

All the Heathfield good work was undone mid way through the half when a 5-metre scrum was poorly defended and the Bognor No 8 crashed over for a converted try. Heathfield seemed to accept that this might mean that the victory was gone but refused to accept that they would go home with Nil Points.

Renewed determination drove Heathfield into the opposition half for most of the last 15 minutes and Bognor stood strong and repelled all boarders. All until Moss latched onto the end of a move, started on the other side of the pitch, drove past 3 defenders to score in the left-hand corner. This was no less than Heathfield deserved but any hopes of more evaporated when the missed conversion attempt signalled the end of the match.

The return journey was quite sombre and low key with more than one player pondering the benefits of arriving early at venues.

Squad: M. MacLeod, J. Marchant, M. Powderley, B. Toghe (R. Burchett 40), R. Everett, J. Cummings, J. Bailey, B. Stow, M. Jaques, B. Burdett (D. Groome 40), D. Hesketh, M. Oss, O. Hearsey, P. Phillipou, C. English

Posted by: Mike MacLeod

Development Team
12/20/2005 11:22:29 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

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