Sussex Rugby - Heathfield & Waldron RFC - Heathfield Boars 22 Newick 2nd's 20

	Saturday, January 06, 2007

Heathfield Boars 22 Newick 2nd's 20

The Boars start 2007 with a narrow victory over close league rivals Newick 2’s. The game was played at Waldron and the famous slope played a big part in the shape of play. The Boars enjoyed the advantage in the first half and ran up a 22 points to 3 advantage at half time before struggling to keep a increasingly confident Newick side at bay in the second half.

Heathfield scored after 10 minutes when full back Rob Woods, on his first match since returning from a knee operation, cut into the line at pace to make 20 metres and score between the posts. Woods then went on to convert this try. The game continued to ebb and flow despite the wind and rain then the Boars gained a second score when Woods again cut into the line and unselfishly drew the last defender before passing to Matt McDonald to score in the left hand corner. Even though the conversion was missed the Boars began to look in control at 12-0.

This was challenged when the Newick forwards drove up hill and chose to kick a penalty from the 22 metre line to take the score to 12-3. The Boars showed their determination to win by responding from the kick off. The Heathfield forwards took the ball off their opposite numbers and it was spun left at pace to Matt McDonald who wrong footed two defenders in one move and sped over for his second try of the day. The conversion attempt was once again missed.

The final score of the half was a solo effort by Brady Burdett when he deluded his opposite number then ducked under a Newick centres attempted tackle and sprinted to the line. Burdett missed the conversion attempt. The Boars were pressing even as the half time whistle went but must have felt confident about the second half.

Newick had other ideas as they came out fast and hard putting the Heathfield line under pressure early on and keeping it on. The Boars forwards suddenly seemed unable to live with the aggressive Newick maul and this showed when Newick caught and drove from a lineout on the Boars 5 metre line and prop Neil Morgan went over to score. The difficult conversion attempt was narrowly missed.

The pressure continued with Heathfield only rarely making it into the Newick half. Strong defence was needed and led by Bailey and Hesketh the Boars kept working to provide it. After a sustained spell of pressure Newick got their second try when scrum half James Waylett picked up and drove over from a ruck. Crucially the conversion attempt was missed.

There then came the turning point in the game when Newick lost their discipline and had a player sin binned for persistent offside and then a player sent of for violent conduct. This did not stop Newick pressing and when Burdett attempted a clearance kick in his own gaol area it was charged down and Waylett had the simple job of tapping the ball down and John Cook converted to take the score to 22-20 with 6 minutes to go. Heathfield survived this last period and captain and birthday boy Kenny Lewis jumped for joy at the final whistle safe in the knowledge that the Boars were back to winning ways and were up to 3^rd in the league.

Man of the match went to Duncan Hesketh for his whole hearted performance which held the side together during the tough times.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. La Roche (J. Sharp - 65), J. Geesin (A. Sutton – 40), P. Hookway (J. Parsons - 40), T. Rose, Ben Taylor (S. Walker – 60), K. Lewis, S. Bayley , D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, A. Farrell, M. McDonald, S. Hollingdale, R. Woods (M. Barber – 40)

Report by Mike MacLeod