Sussex Rugby - Heathfield & Waldron RFC

U14's 2007 - 2008 Results

2008-04-20T14:06:39.6740000+01:00

20/4/08 : Tunbridge Wells B (H): 5 – 0 (W)

20/4/08 : Crowborough (H): 34 – 0 (W)

13/4/08 : Sunderland (A): 41 - 5 (L)

13/4/08 : Old Christians (A): 5 – 7 (W)

12/4/08 : Presentation Boys College , Cork (A): 74 - 10 (L)

30/3/08 : Eastbourne A/B (H): 0 – 48 (L)

16/3/08 : Uckfield (H): 0 – 39 (L)

9/3/08 : Crowborough (A): 10 – 22 (W)

24/2/08 : Tonbridge Judds A/B (A)

17/2/08 : Westcombe Park A/B (H): 19 – 33 (L)

10/2/08 : Lewes (H): 19 - 19 (D)

20/1/08 : Old Reigatians (H): 7 – 76 (L)

13/1/08 : Midhurst (A): 0 – 31 (L)

16/12/07 : Seaford (A): 5 – 48 (W)

2/12/07 : Horsham (H): 29 – 5 (W)

25/11/07 : Hove A/B (A): 51 – 17 (L)

18/11/07 : Midhurst (H): 15 – 10 (W)

4/11/07 : Tunbridge Wells B (A): 48 –15 (L)

28/10/07 : Cranbrook A/B (H): 0 - 46 (L)

14/10/07 : v Lewes (A): 18-10 (L)

7/10/07 : v Hastings (H): 69-0 (W)

23/9/07 : v Hellingly (A): 0 – 40 (W)

Heathfield Boars 43 Hellingly 2’s 29

2008-04-15T11:16:10.6200000+01:00

Some games are memorable for the fine play and others are forgettable for dull play. This victory will live long in the memory but only of those people who stayed away from the after match celebrations. This reporter’s memory of events is patchy at best.

"Twinkle Toes" prepares to mash and mangle apposing players with a trade mark run... this run saw him pip Bradley to 3rd place in the Top Gun listing - NICE!

Dave Rhodes marches another scrum towards the tryline...

The Boars won despite a comedy of errors in the back division which three times brought Hellingly back into the game by gifting them tries. An early try from Chris Jones settled the nerves and Dave Rhodes added another shortly afterwards. Even the next score being a Hellingly try did not puncture the general feeling that the Boars could win it. Julian Wates then scored an excellent try when he took a ball on the burst at the half way line and beat the defence to make the line near the posts. This seasons Boars top try scorer Rob "Top Gun" Woods then snuck in for another score before the Boars threw Hellingly a life line with a wild ball that was snapped up and run back for a try by a grateful Hellingly player. Simon Hollingdale then showed his power game when he scored from 30 metres out having trampled 3 attempted tacklers on the way. The last action of the half was when Cook, the Hellingly number 8 broke several tackles to score between the posts to take the score to 33-19 at half time.

yes... that was "Top Gun" making a tackle, the stunned look on everyone's face says it all...

The second half saw more errors creep into the Boars game and another wild ball saw Hellingly score again before Woods struck for his second try of the day. Hellingly also found extra effort in the forwards and gained more ground in the loose and parity in the set pieces. This led to a few nervous moments after another Hellingly forward barged his way over the try line. Wates calmed things down with his second try and the Boars held on to the final whistle and time for the celebrations to begin.

Now that looks like its gonna hurt!

"Action Man" takes another lineout...

It was very good to see Joe Geesin last a full match for the first time this season even if it was accompanied by many threats that he would retire immediately the game finished. Aficionados of the Boars scrum hope this is not true. Sadly this game also sees the final game for one of the Boars founding fathers, Simon Walker, who retires after 11 seasons at the club.

Man of the Match was Julian Wates who held a fragile Boars backline together and scored two fine tries.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, C. Jones, J. Geesin, P. Hookway, B. Groves (S. Walker – 50), J. Parsons (I. Jenkins – 35), D. Bird (J. Malewicz – 60, D. Cook, D. Rhodes (S. Hipgrave – 55), B. Burdett, J. Wates, R. Woods, S. Hollingdale (K. Lewis – 65), J. Henry (N. Sands – 40), M. Brown (B. Burdett Snr - 75)

Match report by Mike MacLeod


Boars 'Top Guns' 2007/2008
Player Name	Tries
Rob Woods	19
Dave Cook	16
Simon Hollingdale	14
Brady Burdett	13
Julian Wates	10

Heathfield 17 Seaford 6

2008-04-12T13:37:48.5750000+01:00

The final game of the season was played in front of one of the largest crowds ever assembled at Cross in Hand. The home club laid on hospitality for their sponsors and vice Presidents before the Greenies completed their league programme with a victory and a 100% record. Most of The clubs sponsors were represented including their main sponsors Wrightsure who have supported them for more than five years. Festivities began at midday with Heathfield`s league winning Boars team entertaining and defeating a reinforced Hellingly side and continued late into the evening after Sussex President elect Roger Edmondson had presented the Sussex Division 1 trophy. It was a day to remember for Heathfield and Waldron RFC.

The Greenies overcame a spirited Seaford side with an efficient display of rugby and yet again their opponents failed to cross the try line. Playing into a strong wind in the first half the home side went onto the attack and scored an early try thorough their top try scorer Rob Lawrence with a well practised catch and drive from a lineout near Seaford ’s line. Seaford used the wind to gain some territorial advantage and responded with a penalty. Heathfield returned to the attack with Bryn Jones judging a cross kick to perfection for Matt Skinner to collect and make ground before feeding winger Seb Jones for the try. The wind was making place kicking difficult but Heathfield turned round at half time with a 12-6 lead.

Heathfield opened the scoring in the second half with a pushover try by their number 8 Simon Wilson. This score in effect sealed the win and Heathfield`s 100% record because after resisting the home side for long periods Seaford had a front row injury which resulted in uncontested scrum and then hit the self destruct button by having two players yellow carded inside five minutes. First a Seaford player committed a professional foul to prevent a certain Heathfield try and then the referee correctly gave a second yellow card for stamping. The match was put out of reach by an interception from George Leney who ran half the length of the field to score under the posts. The score did not really reflect the run of the game because although they did not look like crossing Heathfield`s line , Seaford played much good rugby . While the Greenies were not at their sharpest, they rewarded their coach and their supporters with a thoroughly competent performance. After the game they received the Sussex Division 1 cup and man of the match Mark “Kiwi” Walker was awarded a Greenies blazer in recognition of his outstanding play and sportsmanship during his two years with the club. All his friends at Heathfield wish him every success when we returns to New Zealand.

Report by Mike de St Croix

Sussex President Elect Roger Edmonson presents the Sussex One League Trophy to Bryn Jones.

Mark 'Kiwi' Walker was presented with a Club blazer after his final game for the Club prior to returning to New Zealand.

Celebrations

More Celebrations...

Heathfield Boars 55 vs. Hastings 3’s 7

2008-03-31T08:04:46.7770000+01:00

Boars clinch historic Treble for Heathfield

The Boars produced an excellent performance to clinch the Sussex Div 3 east championship and ensure that all three Heathfield & Waldron senior sides topped their divisions in the same season. This may be the first time such a feat has been seen in Sussex. However there was plenty of hard work done before the champagne corks popped at the end of the match.

...all round the pitch the Boars forwards cancelled out the larger Hastings forwards

the site of Joe Geesin at full pace has KFC thinking about steak, rather than the ball...

The game opened with the Boars facing a strong wind and a big pack of Hastings forwards. The first quarter was a matter of containment and sussing the opposition out. The Boars pack again raised their game against bigger opponents with the tight five working hard to allow the back row to harass the opposition. After 20 minutes a foray by the Boars into the Hastings half led to a try from number 8 Dave Cook. He broke several tackles, placed the ball between the posts and calmly converted his own kick. This settled a lot of nerves and the Boars game improved.

Five minutes later inside centre Julian Wates took the ‘wrong’ option and spurned an overlap to bulldoze into his opposite centres and he was very fortunate to break through some sloppy tackling and score another converted try [or in other words, he couldnt get the pass off so had to go it alone and through power and determination broke several tackles to score under the posts]. Just before halftime Cook rounded off a move out wide on the right as he scooped up loose ball and took it the remaining 10 yards to score. With the score at 19-0 the half-time the team talk was about maintaining focus as the game was not over by any means.

The Boars backs at FULL pace during another attack... now will Woodsie pass this time??!?!

The Boars have improved a lot this season and much of that is seen in their attitude and fitness. The second half was saw some good rugby with Rob Woods and Adam Farrell standing out as the ball flowed well and set moves came off.

First full back Woods joined the line out wide and beat the defence for pace as he raced to the line. Then Farrell smashed through the centre 15 metres out and made the ground to score a converted try. This was followed by a bizarre try when Woods broke through 40 metres out and chip kicked the ball over the last defender who then illegally tripped him as he went past to collect the ball. This would have presented the referee with a problem had winger Nick Sands not sped after the ball, collected it and scored between the posts for Ian Schleider to convert. That probably saved Hastings a penalty try and a yellow card.

Woods on the attack again during the second half...

All through the game Hastings had fought back by trying to make ground through their forwards. This finally paid off when they scored between the Boars posts after a long period of possession and good recycling that wore down the Boars defence.

Heathfield came straight back and Cook gained his third try of the match when the Boars won a penalty 5 metres out and he took responsibility, tapped and went so quickly that the defence was unable to stop him.

Woods collected his second try of the game when he again came into the line at speed and broke free of the defence to score. And the final try was the best of the nine when Farrell shook off a tackle from his opposite number 40 metres out and had just about enough gas in the tank to make it to the line just as several defenders caught up with him.

second team players look on in awe as Adam "itsmylastgameoftheseasonimnotpassingtoanyone" Farrell takes on John "Action Man" Parsons... mind the hidden suprise lads!!!!

The final whistle went shortly after this and the party started in earnest. This win sets up a fantastic final set of league matches on the 12th April when the second team travel to Haywards Heath and the Boars play Hellingly 2’s at home both with an early (12.30 pm) kick off to watch the Heathfield first team striving to beat Seaford and finish the season unbeaten in the league. The H&WRFC clubhouse will be rocking that evening with 4 trophies already won and a ‘best ever’ season to be celebrated.

Man of the Match was blind side flanker John Parsons for living up to his nickname of Action Man and doing excellent work all around the pitch.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp, J. Geesin (A. Sutton – 30), P. Hookway (D. Bird – 65), T. Rose (B. Groves – 65), J. Parsons, K. Lewis (I. Schleider – 40), D. Cook, M. Brown (D. Rhodes – 40), B. Burdett, J. Wates, A. Farrell, S. Hollingdale (R. Woods – 40), M. Barber

Match report by Mike MacLeod

[with a little tweak here and there from Julian Wates]

Heathfield 29 Uckfield 0

2008-03-29T08:32:40.6670000-00:00

This local derby match was robustly contested but played in good spirit under the watchful eye of a thoroughly competent referee. Heathfield played all the rugby and proved to a huge crowd exactly why they are Sussex Division 1 champions with a one hundred percent record. They dominated this match from beginning to end scoring four good tries in the process. As has so often been the case this season the Greenies pack were awesome especially at the lineout and in the loose. Uckfield competed well in the tight but the speed and power of the Greenies eight dictated the course of the match. Kiwi Mark Walker, moved to No 6 for this game, was immense in everything he did and with Simon Wilson and Bruce Pestell also in peak form the back row carried forward superbly and continually turned over any ball which Uckfield threatened to win. Lee Vockins had a marvellous tussle with his talented opposite number and put in some crunching tackles. It was his kind of game and he emerged with great credit. His half back partner Bryn Jones controlled the game well putting in some excellent positional kicks and releasing his backs when tries were in the offing. Every Heathfield player performed admirably in what was very much a team performance by a group of players who play for each other and who provide great entertainment for their large group of loyal supporters. No side achieves success without strong and skilful leadership and the Heathfield coach Dave Jones has been the mentor and inspiration behind this result and the successes of the season.

Mercifully the rain which was forecast did not materialise and Uckfield produced an excellent playing surface. After both sides had missed penalty opportunities Heathfield opened the scoring when their forwards produced quick ball for the three quarters to move the ball to Adam Tennant who timed his pass perfectly for full back Will Drinkwater to cross half way out. The wind which troubled the kickers all afternoon ensured that the Heathfield lead was restricted to five points. Half way through the first period Matt Skinner was successful with a penalty kick and the Greenies then scored one of their copybook tries when Mark Walker secured lineout ball near the Uckfield line for the Greenies eight to trundle to the try line allowing try scorer extraordinary Rob Lawrence to score another of his many tries this season. Heathfield`s other try machine Adam Tennant nearly stole a march on Lawrence when he seemed certain to score on half time. Alas he dropped the ball just before scoring.

The halftime score was 15-0 to Heathfield but soon after the break Tim Evans won a turnover, Bryn Jones made a break and Tennant jinked his way to the line this time making sure to hang on to the ball. An excellent conversion made the score 22-0 and put the game out of Uckfield`s reach. However Heathfield continued to dominate and with subs Mono Thewlis, Tom Pritchard and Richard Cooley providing fresh legs one of Heath field’s ever presents Tim Evans scored a forwards try which was converted to complete one of Heathfield`s best victories over their local rivals. On a day when Heathfield`s two other teams clinched first place in their league competitions this was indeed a day of triumph for the Greenies.

Report by Mike de St Croix

Dan politely gets an Uckfield player back on their side of the ruck...

Heathfield under 13s 26 East Grinstead under 13s 5

2008-03-18T10:13:27.2430000-00:00

East Grinstead brought a strong squad to play Heathfield at Waldron on Sunday. Playing down the hill in the 1st half, the home sides forwards dominated from the off and created good quick rucked ball in wet conditions. Good driving over at rucks particularly by Conor Ingham, Alex Borg and Zach Llamas provided good quality possession.
Flankers Jamie Wardle and Jasper Wren never allowed the visitors any time or space and gradually Heathfield began to take control. Fly Half Harry Reilly both had an excellent game particularly with his kicking out of hand, pushing the East Grinstead side back down field.

It was only a matter of time before the visitors defence broke and a typical sniping try by scrum half Kieran Burdett opened the account. This was followed soon after by a typically aggressive try by second row Henry Ross who ripped the ball away after he appeared to have been held up over the line. Outside centre George Bending had a great game and caused the defence no end of problems with his strong running. He was dreadfully unlucky when he beat the fullback for pace but in trying to go behind the posts was pushed over the dead ball line. But soon after as the defence duly drifted across to cover another potential attack from Bending, inside centre Fergus Diplock beautifully dummied and carved his way through to score.

East Grinstead rallied in the second half now playing down hill and created there own try after a sustained attack but it was Heathfields final try that typified their progression as a pack, with picking and driving play from the East Grinstead 22 metre line. Involving the whole pack, they picked and drove probably a dozen times over several minutes resulting in a fine try for Borg.

Pick of the players of the game for the Backs was Freddie Jones at Full back who looked solid and controlled in everything he did and in the forwards was Conor Ingham who was tireless in his performance. Harry “Cipriani” Reilly’s kicking game was also worthy of a mention kicking 3 out of 4 conversions. One of which was right out on the touchline.

Match report by Brady Burdett

St Francis 0 Heathfield Boars 29

2008-03-17T04:17:58.7870000-00:00

The Boars took a scratch team to Crawley for a friendly against St Francis and eventually ran out clear winners in a hugely enjoyable game played under blue skies. The Boars arrived in dribs and drabs and only reached a full compliment 2 minutes before kick off. This also led to a strange set of backs with Jim Cumming (2nd row now with hair gel added “to feel the part”) and Jack Bayley (flanker) playing as centres and centre Julian Wates stepping up to play number 10. With all the hair styling advice Wates had given Cummings before the match he had forgotten that he would have to kick off, not know for his precision kicking it was going to be an INTERESTING start... Wates brushed off Streeter sniggering about the quality and validity of the kick and the game was ON!

Wates doing his impression of Burdett

Despite the lack of preparation the Boars were first to attack and put pressure on the St Francis line. The saints held firm by a combination of determined tackling and the Boars trying to hard, they had several chances to score but came up a few feet short every time. This led to a game with too many scrums caused by promising back play breaking down.

Finally a score in the corner

The Boars finally opened the scoring when the ball finally made it out to trusted finisher Simon Hollingdale who scored in the corner. After this breakthrough the Boars returned to their habit of trying to force the ball in the last 5 metres before the line. Finally a good set move by the stand in the backs put left winger Nick Sands away to score under pressure in the left corner.

Streeter crashes through again...

At half time saw the addition of normal stand off Brady Burdett who popped in for a game on the way back from a skiing holiday (handy place Crawley) much to the chagrin of his long suffering wife. This returned the Boars backs to their tried and trusted moves and it was not long before ‘shoeless’ Sands cut in from his left wing to take a ball as an extra centre, hit the afterburners and run half the length of the pitch to score in the right hand corner.

Burdett back in charge... Well be OK now!

Then as St Francis started to tire it was the turn of ‘all action hero’ Jack Bayley to burst through on the half way line and show a good turn of speed to make the try line for a score that Burdett converted. Towards the end of the game Bayley repeated this move only this time he took the ball to between the posts and converted his own try.

A terrible pile up is caused when Kenny "KFC" Lewis stoops to pick up what he thinks is a chicken fillet burger...

There were several contenders including Julian Wates and the evergreen Rob Streeter but Man of the Match was Bryn Groves for surprising everyone with his power, stamina and commitment in his first full 80 minute game following 9 substitute appearances. He laid down a demand for a regular place that will be hard to ignore and shows the Boars strength in depth.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp, J. Geesin (B. Togher – 30), B. Groves, T. Rose, D. Bird, K. Lewis, R. Streeter, L. Vockins, J. Wates, J. Cumming (B. Burdett – 40), J. Bayley, S. Hollingdale (B. Taylor – 65), N. Sands, M. Brown

Match report by Mike MacLeod


Boars 'Top Guns' 2007/2008
Player Name	Tries
Rob Woods	15
Dave Cook	13
Brady Burdett	13
Simon Hollingdale	13
Julian Wates	8
Jim Cumming	7

Heathfield 2nd's 67 Hove 3rd's 3

2008-03-08T17:09:15.9640000-00:00

With still 2 more league games to go this victory saw Heathfield guaranteed promotion. Hove arrived unable to field a front row which meant the game would have uncontested scrums as well as being played in torrential downpours and gusting winds.

Despite the conditions Heathfield tried from the outset to play open, entertaining rugby, unfortunately they weren’t quite precise enough and too many moves were squandered with poor handling or failing to pass the ball. However after 20 minutes Heathfield pressure began to tell and a flowing backs move was halted just in front of the try line, as the Hove scrum half tried to clear, it was charged down and Simon Green gathered and went over for the first score. Hove came straight back at Heath and were rewarded with 2 penalties, one of which was converted. Heathfield eventually started to put phases of play together and Ed Skinner made a break from the halfway line but just couldn’t make it over the line, the maul that followed saw Levi Willis squeeze over for a try, Goatcher converted. There followed a solo run from the captain Jim Cummings who scored under the posts, Goatcher converted and Heathfield went in at halftime 19-3 up.

With the wind behind them Heathfield were able to turn the screws in the second half and with quick ball provided by the forwards they played with pace and power. Despite not being able to secure line out ball the backs were moving the ball quickly along the line, good play resulted in a further try from Levi Willis, a typical Jack Bayley support play try, also Nick Evans rolled over from 2 yards out for his try, Goatcher converted. As the half went on Olli Robertshaw grabbed a brace of tries from excellent support play, Warren Wright got one and Jim Cummings got his second. There was a feeling of jug avoidance with 3 players scoring 2 tries and a possible deliberate knock on by Jones with 70 yards to go and no opposition in front of him. All in all in terrible conditions Heathfields’ quality showed through, with 2 league games to go Heathfield can look forward to a tougher challenge in the League above next season.

Report by Shaun Hipgrave

Pictures from Wayne Pritchard

Eastbourne 5 Boars 47

2008-03-08T12:38:27.5810000-00:00

Eastbourne Blown Away by Boars

A strong Boars team travelled to a windy Eastbourne and came away with the win needed to stay top of the league and keep the Heathfield & Waldron club’s hopes of 4 trophies in the season alive. The Boars opted to play into the strong wind in the first half and hoped that their defence would hold out. For long periods Eastbourne pinned the Boars back behind their 22 metre line without finding a way through stout defence. After 20 minutes a Boars error was pounced on and Eastbourne ran in an unconverted try. This seemed to spur the Boars on and on a rare foray into the Eastbourne half Brady Burdett called a move that saw centres Hesketh and Wates take defenders away with decoy runs allowing Burdett to sprint in and score a try that Rhodes did well to convert.

KFC takes another ball at the lineout [someone told him it was edible!]

Just before half time the Boars scored a second try when the slimmed down centre Julian Wates cut through 3 tackles to round off a bout of hard work by the forwards. The teams turned round at half time with the score at 5-12 in the Boars favour.

It was clear that Eastbourne would need to replicate the Boars tactics and play a forward dominated game if they were to have any chance of winning. This they attempted but the Boars forwards have become battle hardened and tackled well to deny Eastbourne any significant progress. There was no more scoring for the first 15 minutes and it took a bit of clever play by scrum half Dave Rhodes to break the stalemate. Rhodes was first to his own kick through and gained the try that seemed to settle the match in the Boars favour.

Gilly crashes through the defence...

Eastbourne never gave up but seemed to tire and the Boars were able to add fresh legs without reducing the level of skill available. This led to a flurry of tries in the last 20 minutes of the match with Dave Cook producing a trademark burst to score followed by Burdett adding his second and young Sam Barrow scoring twice. Barrows second was a thing of beauty with him breaking tackles on the halfway line and dummying the fullback before scoring under the posts.

"Twinckle Toes" storms off down the wing again...

This rounded off an excellent display and set up a chance for the Boars to win the league title at home on the 29th March in their next match against Hastings and Bexhill 3’s.

Jono makes another tackle on his way to Man of the match...

Man of the Match was Jono Sharp for a winning 4 scrums against the head and for excellent work around the pitch.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp, A. Sutton (J. Geesin – 65), P. Hookway (S. Barrow – 45), T. Rose (D. Bird – 65) , W. Visser, K. Lewis (I. Schleider – 20), D. Cook, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, J. Wates, S. Hollingdale, A. Farrell, M. Brown (G. Woods - 50)

Match report by Mike MacLeod


Boars 'Top Guns' 2007/2008
Player Name	Tries
Rob Woods	15
Dave Cook	13
Brady Burdett	13
Simon Hollingdale	12
Julian Wates	8
Jim Cumming	7

Heathfield 63 Pulborough 0

2008-03-08T05:45:56.1390000-00:00

Heathfield sealed the Sussex 1 League title on Saturday at the Hardy Roberts Playing Fields at Cross-In-Hand with an authoritative all-round performance scoring eleven tries against a willing but out-classed Pulborough. Heathfield are now seven points clear of their nearest challenger, East Grinstead , with two league games remaining in the season.

These two teams had met just two weeks previously in the Sussex Shield Final in which Heathfield had eventually clinched a convincing win after an early Pulborough score. This time Pulborough were short of several first choice players and they rarely threatened to score although they always competed in a good spirit.

The first try came in less than two minutes with Sam Thewlis on the right wing showing excellent individual skill and pace to chip ahead and re-gather the ball as he crashed over in the corner. (5-0) Then Adam Tennant on the other wing finished clinically from a Heathfield scrum near the visitor’s line. (10-0)

Pulborough were endeavouring to attack with what possession they had and in trying too hard they gave Matt Skinner an opportunity to intercept in the centre and touch down under the posts. (17-0)

The home team had a majority of possession with excellent pressure in the scrum and the lineout continuing to function well. A period of sustained pressure on the Pulborough line eventually saw Bryn Jones step his way through the defence for a coolly taken try (24-0) and then Rob Lawrence was able to continue his Neil Back impersonation with a standard catch and drive from a lineout (29-0).

In the second half Pulborough had the benefit of the stiff chill wind but the game was played almost entirely in their half as Heathfield maintained control. As with the previous game against Hellingly, Heathfield Coach Dave Jones was urging his players to keep calm and patient and tries duly came. Matt Skinner collected his second of the game using the pace and good lines of running that have often caught the eye this year (34-0). Then Simon Wilson scored a classic No 8 try from the back of a scrum. (39-0).

Another period of pressure on the Pulborough line saw Bryn Jones score in a very similar manner to his try in the first half (44-0). Seb Jones had earlier replaced Sam Thewlis (rib injury) and he also finished well in the right hand corner (49-0)

The last two tries were collected by the two top scorers this season. Rob Lawrence put himself one ahead in this internal battle with an excellent finish beating several opponents (56-0) but then Adam Tennant drew level with another good finish (63-0).

This contest promises to entertain players and spectators alike in the remaining two matches. However this should not divert the team from one of their main objectives this season which is to win the league unbeaten. Their next opponents Uckfield (at Uckfield 29^th March) still have a chance of promotion and will relish the chance to upset the green bandwagon.

Report by Phil Bell

Heathfield Boars 17 East Grinstead 3’s 15

2008-03-03T06:23:37.4680000-00:00

Captain Kenny Drives Boars towards League Title

East Grinstead brought a strong team to face a Boars team without 4 of their best players and came within a minute of victory. However the Boars are proving a difficult team to beat this season and their spirit and will to win eventually got them the score that keeps them top of the league with only 3 games left to play.

East Grinstead were the better team in the opening exchanges and had the Boars under pressure from the start. EG’s larger pack was putting pressure on at the set pieces and desperate defending was needed to keep out the repeated attacks. Boars number 8 Mike Brown saved a try when he managed to hold the ball up after East Grinstead had rumbled over the try line. The Boars were relying on the boot of Brady Burdett and Rob Woods to clear their lines and gain breathing space as the ball was not moving through hands as smoothly as fans have come to expect.

This maul lead to the first Heathfield try...

After 15 minutes the persistent pressure paid off for EG when they won a penalty 20 metre out and they chose to kick. This broke the deadlock and shortly afterwards the Grinstead number 10 added to this with a clean break through the centre for a try between the posts which was converted to leave the Boars 0-10 down.

From this low point the Boars rallied and the forwards seemed to up their work rate, gaining parity in the set pieces and an edge in the loose play where the back row trio of Kenny Lewis, Ian Schleider and Mike Brown were outstanding. This gave additional impetus to the Boars backs and five minutes later Burdett tired of watching the ball being dropped outside him, dummied his opposite number and galloped the 30 metres to score. Importantly the try was converted by Woods to take the score to 7-10 at half time.

From the Boars restart kick East Grinstead countered quickly and would have scored had Captain Lewis not swept the ball up and took it out just as the EG winger looked likely to pounce. However this simply delayed the next EG score as another break from the quick EG number 10 allowed a score in the corner from where the conversion was missed. Had this been the final score East Grinstead would have gone to the top of the table.

However the Boars struck back very quickly and from quick ball won by the forwards it was spun left and full back Woods was on hand to score a try to the relief of most of the crowd.

Dave Rhodes starts another heathfield attack...

This was followed by a moment of madness as Woods again broke the East Grinstead line and crossed the try line but a moments lack of concentration saw him drop the ball and the ref denied the score. Serious dissent saw Woods be given 10 minutes to cool down and watch his team mates toil. The remaining 14 Boars did magnificently to contain the 15 men of East Grinstead with the fresh legs of substitutes Nick Kerr, Lee Keylock and Dan Bird proving vital.

Woods rejoined the action with 13 minutes to go and the Boars still 2 points down. This period saw the Boars gain an upper hand and press their tiring opponents. Time and time again attacks were repulsed until the final minute of play approached. The ball was passed to Keylock on the left and he made yards and bravely made sure that he stayed in play. Support was found and the ball went back to midfield where the attack was held up 10 metres out. Captain Lewis ripped the ball out and passed to Duncan Hesketh who drew 2 defenders and lobbed a miss pass out to winger Simon Hollingdale who is not easy to stop only 10 yards out and true to form he crashed over in the corner. The conversion kick was missed but this did nothing to lessen the cheers when the referees whistle went for the end of the match.

This final attack lead to Simon "Twinckle Toes" Hollingdale scoring in the far corner

The Boars must win two of their last 3 games to be sure of the title but after this hard fought victory that is within their grasp.

Thanks must go to Dave Robertshaw for stepping in and doing an excellent job of refereeing this critical game at very short notice.

Man of the Match was Kenny Lewis for a dynamic and inspirational performance for the full 80 minutes.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod (D. Bird – 60), C. Jones, A. Sutton, J. Parsons, S. Cooley (N. Kerr – 50), I. Schlieder, K. Lewis, M. Brown, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, J. Wates, A. Farrell (L. Keylock – 55), S. Hollingdale, R. Woods Sub not used J. Sharp

Match report by Mike MacLeod


Boars 'Top Guns' 2007/2008
Player Name	Tries
Rob Woods	15
Dave Cook	12
Simon Hollingdale	12
Brady Burdett	10
Julian Wates	7
Jim Cumming	7

Hellingly 8 Heathfield 75

2008-03-01T15:04:37.0100000-00:00

Heathfield continued their unbeaten Sussex 1 League campaign with a resounding victory over neighbours Hellingly, running in thirteen tries. The home side was handicapped by injuries and absences but even at full strength they would have had trouble in containing a rampant Heathfield. Pitch conditions were good on a sunny afternoon with a brisk breeze behind the home team in the first half. The visitors had the majority of possession and with their three quarters having a distinct edge over their opposite numbers in terms of pace and organisation there was little doubt over the result.

The lineout was an early area of success for Hellingly as they secured their own ball well and successfully disrupted some of the opposition ball. However the referee intervened to prevent some of their activities and thereafter Heathfield dominated that area as well. Heathfield had an edge in the scrummage although it was not a consistently stable platform.

After ten minutes the visitors were fourteen points up from tries by Damien Pestell and Bryn Jones coming from quick hands and good lines of running which troubled Hellingly all afternoon. The coach Dave Jones was already urging his players to keep it simple and not to become over-excited at the scoring possibilities.

These directions were now followed immaculately as in a period of ten minutes Heathfield scored three almost identical tries from lineouts near the home line, clean catch and drive and Rob Lawrence with the ball at the back was able to touch down unimpeded. (0-29)

Hellingly were able to collect three points from a penalty conceded by a well-known Heathfield player who had a senior moment diving on the ball in an offside position.

Just before half-time the inspirational Kiwi captain Mark Walker completed another good sequence of passing to touch down near the posts. (3-36)

In the second half with the wind behind them and the sun in their opponent’s eyes, Heathfield continued to score regularly mainly through their three quarters and Ed Armah was the first to touch down after a regulation move.

However Hellingly showed spirit by counter-attacking down their right wing, hacking ahead and exploiting some hesitancy in defence to collect at least some compensation. (8-41)

That was the end of their good news as Heathfield continued to rack up the points and Matt Skinner and Adam Tennant both collected two tries apiece. Matt also had a decent day with the boot, collecting five conversions and being very close with several others. Will Drinkwater went close in the corner but was stripped of the ball as he went over.

Rob Lawrence scored his fourth on the day from a familiar move at the front of the lineout and the final score was deservedly collected by George Leney who made his usual dynamic impact in the rucks and mauls.

Hellingly had competed throughout the game but there had been some signs of frustration and the referee Graeme Pratt, who had a decent and typically undemonstrative game, finally sin-binned a Hellingly player for a bad late tackle.

All three Heathfield adult teams won their matches this weekend and remain at the top of their respective leagues. Heathfield continue their Sussex 1 League campaign next Saturday March 8th at home to Pulborough, kick off 3pm .

Report by Phil Bell