Sussex Rugby - Heathfield & Waldron RFC - Heathfield 2nds 10 Haywards Heath 3rds 17

	Saturday, January 13, 2007

Heathfield 2nds 10 Haywards Heath 3rds 17

Heathfield 2nds have been riding the crest of a wave this season. With only one loss and 12 wins in all competitions they felt confident they could pull off a surprise win against the powerful and quick Haywards Heath 3rds.

Again the main pitch at Cross in Hand was in superb condition and the table was set for an afternoon of free flowing rugby.

Haywards Heath kicked off with Heathfield choosing the advantage of the wind behind in the first half. It was then at least a minute and a half before the first stoppage. Both teams had come to play.

Heathfield applied excellent pressure on the visitors forcing a number of penalties. The temptation was go for goal but the confidence was high and the decision was made to turn up the pressure. A quick tap and go resulted in Jim Cummings driving through several tackles to score. The kick was missed. 5 – 0

This rattled the visitors cage. It was their turn to apply the pressure. After 10 minutes camped in their own 22, Heathfield’s scrum half Jamie Marchant was sin Binned for handling on the ground beneath the posts and from the resulting penalty Haywards Heath captain and no 8 (Dan) crashed over for a converted try. 5 – 7

The next 15 minutes was the best rugby Heathfield 2nds have played all year. Excellent ball retention and phase work combining forwards and backs created an opportunity for Chris English, Guy Woods and Matt Skinner to show what they can do with a little bit of space. Some excellent passing and lines of running resulted in an unconverted try for Matt Skinner. 10 – 7 at the break.

For the second half Mike Fellows who had played very well in the first half, made way for Bob Togher (who had travelled all the way from Chelmsford – that’s commitment) to take over at loose head. Luke Sanders replaced Chris Ambrosino at hooker.

With the wind behind them Haywards Heath pitched up in Heathfields 22 and decided to stay there. The visitors kept bashing and Heathfield kept boshing. There was no way through for 30 minutes.

The last 10 minutes decided the match. The Heathfield forwards were tiring. The visitors fitness was beginning to tell and eventually they were able to break down the defence and score two unconverted tries. 10 – 17

Heahfield had one and a half minutes to score a converted try for a draw. The last minute and a half mirrored the first with no stoppages. Heathfield pressed closer and closer to the visitors try line. Then final whistle sounded with Heathfield 2 yards out. Final score 10 - 17

An excellent game of rugby, enjoyed by players and spectators alike.

Nick Evans, Chris Ambrosino, Mike Fellows , Jim Cummings, Dan Hunter Evans, Mike Brown, Rob Streeter, Ian Jenkins (Capt), Jamie Marchant , Chris English, Guy Woods, Matt Skinner, Levis Willis, Paul Jarvis, Barry Slay, Bob Togher (40), Ed Jones, (50), Luke Sanders (40)

Report by Ian Jenkins

Development Team
1/13/2007 5:46:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

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