The chapter of disasters in the saga of the first round match in this seasons Powergen Junior Vase continued when Heath field travelled with a large band of supporters to Hayes in Kent for the rearranged fixture. Both fixtures will be remembered as much for the refereeing or lack of it as the rugby. Due to a misunderstanding there was no referee appointed for the original game and for the second meeting the refereeing was to put it mildly somewhat loose. That said Heath field were well beaten by a faster and more vigorous side and the loyal group of supporters while disappointed by the lack of control of the referee could not grumble with the result and gave credit to the home side’s performance on the day.

Heath field have combined well as a unit this season but there was little evidence of teamwork in this disjointed performance. Not helped by some strange interpretation of the laws Heath were badly beaten to the breakdown, conceded turnover ball regularly and whenever an individual made ground there was insufficient support to create scoring opportunities. Making his debut for Heath field at scrum half, Will Christian showed glimpses of class but received little protection from either the referee or his own players. The stark facts are that Park House scored the only two tries of the match and Heath field lost three players injured while a number of others were struggling with minor injuries by the final whistle. With a number of key league fixtures approaching this loss may serve as a wake-up call to a side who had been shaping so well before until this reversal.

Report by Mike de St Croix

10/27/2007 10:05:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)