For the second successive Saturday Heath field lost narrowly to a side who were stronger on the day. The match at Cross in Hand attracted a large crowd of loyal supporters but  unfortunately the visiting team dominated much of the game through a powerful pack and a good three-quarter line served by a very competent pair of half backs. The game was disappointing as a spectacle because it was punctuated throughout by stoppages and a string of penalties some for rather petty offences. Sadly it appeared there was little empathy between the referee and the players and so periods of good and flowing rugby were rare. Players and spectators left the match with puzzled expressions.

Horsham were well worth their win. Their forwards excelled at the rolling maul and never allowed the talented Heathfield backs to get into their stride. The ball which the home side did win was slow and poorly controlled. Apart from an improved lineout in which Mark Walker excelled, the Heathfied pack was outplayed. However they never stopped trying to match their opponents and defended manfully especially at the breakdown where Bruce Pestel and Paul Flood gave strong performances. The Heath field backs always looked as though they might steal the game and Guy Woods, playing his first game of the season, tackled in his usual robust manner and showed what an asset he will be when he remains to full fitness.

Horsham scored first through a penalty after sustained pressure in the opening minutes. Heath field responded immediately with a brilliant solo try from their skipper Bryn Jones.

After a tap penalty Bryn broke to the blind side, put in a perfectly weighted chip kick which he caught and then he used his speed and strength to go over for a superb try. Heath field continued to apply pressure and were rewarded by a Joe Riley penalty. Almost immediately Horsham regained the lead with a good try by their back line when the home tackling was found wanting. At half time Heath field were only just in arrears at 8-10 but Horsham scored again early in the second half and continued to use their powerful forwards to maintain territorial advantage over their hosts.Heathfield did manage another score through their forwards when the pack drove Paul Flood over for a try which gave the home side a chance to snatch victory late in the match. However the whistle and more stoppages and penalties enabled Horsham to hang onto their narrow advantage.

This was a disappointing game for the Greenies. They will need to bolster their forward play and make sure not to concede so many penalties if they are to challenge for a high spot in the league.

Report by Mike de St Croix

9/30/2006 5:02:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Having lost heavily to Seaford in the first league match of the season the Boars were determined to win their second league match and overcome table topping Eastbourne 4’s. The Boars were boosted by the return of several key players and on paper looked a strong side.

The first 10 minutes of the game were pretty even with both teams testing the other out. Eastbourne had the better of the set piece plays while Heathfield looked more fluent in the open phases. The first score came from a period of sustained pressure and the Boars recycled well through 5 or 6 phases of play probing both left and right before Jim Cummings took a pop pass at speed and broke through on the left to score.

This seemed to inspire Heathfield as they put together a good sustained passage of play spoilt only by the number of penalties committed by Eastbourne as they tried to slow the game down to a pace they could compete with. From one of these decisions Kenny Lewis slotted over his first penalty kick of the season to take the score to 0-8 to the Boars.

Eastbourne continued to pressure on the set pieces with the Boars only winning one in two of their own scrums and lineouts. Even under this pressure Jack Bailey (playing in an unfamiliar role as scrum half) kept his backs in the game and the mobility of the Boars pack continued to cause trouble for Eastbourne. With 30 minutes gone Heathfield gained good field position and recycled the ball in a central position 15 metres out. Brady Burdett offered his Sussex renowned dummy (there may be problems with a ‘sell by date’ infringement if health and safety ever look at it) and ghosted into a gap and through for a score. This took the game to a very satisfactory 0-13 at half time.

The Heathfield players had warned each other that the game was not yet won and Eastbourne proved this immediately from the restart. Eastbourne had clearly decided that their best hope would come via their bigger forwards playing a tight game a physically dominating the Boars. Eastbourne hammered at the Heathfield line for a good 5 minutes with Kenny Lewis stopping a try by getting under the ball as the Eastbourne player tried to ground the ball over the try line. Sadly Heathfield did not defend the resultant scrum very well and were pushed back over the line and the Eastbourne number 8 scored.

At 5-13 the game was back in the melting pot. Every score is important but many felt that the next score might be crucial. But there was plenty of drama to come before the next score. As the Boars made ground towards the Eastbourne 22 metre line Kenny Lewis ended up at the bottom of a big ruck and did not get up again. All rugby players fear neck injuries and an ambulance was quickly called when it was discovered that this was the problem. A 20 minute delay ensued as the paramedics carefully took the Boars captain away.

The match restarted and quickly returned to a full blooded contest as before. The Boars used the field position well as Jack Bailey darted past a couple of tackles on the right hand side and sensibly took the ball to between the posts for Paul Jarvis to convert the try and give the Boars a 5-20 lead. Shortly after this Eastbourne shot themselves in the foot when their number 6 was yellow carded for persistent infringement (it was a fair cop as he was offside so much he should have played in a Boars shirt). Heathfield took advantage of the numbers by swinging the game from one side of the pitch to the other and it was good to see Joe Hendry go over for his first try for the club and the score rattled up to 5-27 for Heathfield.

Eastbourne almost got a toe-hold back in the game when the usually solid Boars central defence went AWOL and allowed a surprised Eastbourne player to make a 22 metre dash to the line for a converted try. The final score was another Jim Cummings trademark rumble through some tired looking tackles to rack up the 5^th Boars try of the day and a final score of 12-32.

Man of the match for the Boars was close between 5 excellent players Nick Evans, Jim Cummings, Jack Bailey, Paul Jarvis and Guy Ellery. The award went to Jim Cummings due to his brace of tries. The Boars also won the ‘man of the match’ drinking race when they swapped the Jim Cummings for Mike MacLeod as the former wussed out on the excuse of having to drive Kenny’s car to the hospital. The news from the hospital is that Kenny has a ‘brass neck’ and is fine. He was later seen at the clubhouse having a pint and negotiating with partner Jo on how to get rid of the stiffness. Say no more!

Boars Team – Mike MacLeod (Steve Lester – 79), Andy Sutton, Nick Evans, Ben Taylor, Tony Rose, Kenny Lewis (Paul Hookway – 55), Tony Wates, Jim Cummings,  Jack Bailey, Brady Burdett, Adam Farrrell, Paul Jarvis, Joe Hendry, Simon Hollingsdale, Guy Ellery

Match report: Mike MacLeod

9/30/2006 3:03:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Heathfield and their supporters received a stirring welcome when they travelled to Pulborough’s magnificent new ground on the Parham estate on Saturday. The greeting from the Pulborough club was warm and much appreciated but the welcome on the pitch was far from expected and knocked the Greenies out of their stride from the opening seconds of the game. The home side, clearly proud of their wonderful new facilities were highly motivated and produced a first half of fast open rugby which kept Heath on the back foot until after half time.

Pulborough deserve great credit for the fast and daring rugby they played. Their pack provided adequate ball to a very young and speedy threequarter line and all their tries were scored out wide, two by their wingers and one by their full back after a lamentable lack of tackling by the Greenies.

Heath coach Dave Jones made some changes at half time and Simon Wilson making a welcome return to 1st XV rugby added power and experience to the shell-shocked Heath field side. With Wilson in the van the Heath forwards tore into Pulborough and the backs responded by scoring excellent tries through Mike Hole, Bryn Jones and Joe Riley. Riley kicked two conversions to add to a penalty he converted in the opening minutes.

Having recovered to 20 points a piece, Heath had the game for the taking but Pulborough finished stronger in the final minutes to win the game and record their first win over Heathfield for many years. It was a great start to their league campaign and a perfect way to launch their new ground. Heathfield were beaten by a better and more motivated team but will recover and will be a threat to all the other sides in their division. 

Report by: Mike de St Croix

9/23/2006 9:03:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Heathfield continued their build up to their league programme with an outstanding performance against a most impressive Worthing side containing many of their 1st XV squad and a number of their up and coming stars. Worthing deservedly won the match with an unconverted try in the closing seconds but the Greenies delighted their supporters with two superb tries and some excellent all round play.

After Worthing had monopolised a lot of set piece possession, especially in the lineout and taken the lead with an unconverted try, Heath hit back and attacked deep into their opponents half winning a flow of second phase possession. Having won a scrum in the Worthing 22 Jack Bailey seized on a loose ball and fed Damien Pestell who feinted inside then out before selling a dummy and crossing near the posts. This converted try was sufficient to secure Heath a narrow lead at half time.

The second half started badly for Heath with their lineout failing to function and with the mush taller and heavier Worthing forwards gaining more and more ball and threatening to swamp the physically smaller home forwards. A penalty try was conceded and it appeared that Worthing would run out easy winners. But Heath field are a tough and very determined unit and in spite of limited set piece possession they hit back, holding their own in the tight, tackling like tigers and winning the lose ball time and again. Jack Bayley made a welcome return to the team and with his back row colleagues did much good work on the floor and in the close exchanges. Both props, new boy Andre and veteran Mike Fellows held a large Worthing front row admirably and Mark Walker continued to show what an asset he is becoming in the pack.

Heaths second try was taken superbly by Rob Lawrence who had an outstanding game. Heath took a short penalty some twenty yards out from the Worthing goal line and Rob burst through the entire Worthing pack in a display of speed and strength to score another excellent try for his side.

Heath field start their league programme at Pulborough on Saturday. It will be the home side’s first league match on their new ground in the Parham Estate (kick off 3.00 pm)

Report by: Mike de St Croix

9/16/2006 10:10:30 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

In the 2nd round the Boars play host to Hastings & Bexhill 3rd XV on 07/10/06

9/16/2006 10:05:28 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

A visit to the Isle of Wight to play last seasons Hampshire Division one champions represented a major challenge to Heathfield's exciting young side.

The Greenies were well up for the game and camped near the home side’s line for most of the first quarter of the match. Robust play by Heathfield’s small but mobile pack created a number of scoring opportunities which were not converted into points.

A penalty near the posts was missed but just before the end of the first period Greenies won good second phase ball and their backs moved the ball swiftly down the line before Damien Pestell passed inside for his brother Bruce to open the scoring.

A strong wind and a very dry ground made conditions difficult and both sides found the going hard on a very warm September afternoon. In the second quarter with the wind behind them the Hurricanes soon kicked skillfully to the corners and were soon rewarded with a try by one of their powerful flankers. Having tackled ferociously up to this point Heath let themselves down with some sloppy tackling and this try should have been prevented.

However Heathfield soon hit back with what may turn out to be one of the tries of the season. Bryn Jones produced the perfect restart kick whichhanged in the air against the wind, Bruce Pestell following the kick at speed plucked the ball out of the air and charged forward at speed. His speed and the timing of his catch allowed him to pass some would be tacklers and he reached the opposition 22 still on his feet and in possession. To his great credit  he then took the decision that he did not need to share his moment of glory with any of his colleagues and continued his forward charge barging a few of his remaining adversaries out of his way. He reached the try line looking as though he could have managed a few extra yards! It was a sensational try, much appreciated by his teammates and the posse of Heathfield supporters on the touchline.

Sandown again responded by scoring two good tries. Their powerful pack started to dominate and only a brave and skilful display by man of the match Paul Flood at no 8 for Heathfield prevented the home side from overwhelming the Greenies eight. At the start of the final quarter Sandown let 17 points to twelve. But Heath were probably the fitter and more resilient side and to their great credit they managed a try in the dieing seconds which Joe Riley converted with great aplomb from halfway out and against the strong wind.

Heathfield deserved their two point win against a very competent and motivated side from a higher division. They won because they played as a team with great commitment. Every player from newboy and recent colt Sam Pearce to skipper Bryn Jones played their part. The two debutant forwards who know their way around the pitch Rob Lawrence and Mark Walker played their hearts out for Heathfield and were immense in everything they did as were the back row and all the threequarters. It was a great away day on the Island and a splendid start to the season.

Report by: Mike de St Croix

9/12/2006 10:15:23 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

I am organising a TV style Superstars event on Sunday 8th October starting about 1300 hours at Cross in Hand.

There will be 36 participants split into 6 groups undertaking 6 events which will test speed, stamina, strength and skill.

Each participant is to raise at least £50 sponsorship to go towards the new weights and store rooms to the rear of the Club.

Helpers and competitors are required; please contact Ian Jenkins if you would like to take part or help in the organisation of the event.

People need to reserve a place to take part and obtain a sponsorship form from either Ian Jenkins on 07776 141852 or Lee Vockins on 07841 675595.

Ian Jenkins

9/11/2006 1:23:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

The Boars Are Back!

The first game of the season is always interesting. Who will turn up after the long hot summer? Will it be the same fat old gits who left at the end of last season or a collection of finely tuned athletes?

A mixture of both pulled on a motley collection of shirts (note to self - must organise the new strip earlier next year!) to take on Barns Green. Several well informed spectators pointed out that the Boars stand off and 2 centres weighed more than the Boars front row.

BG were very close runners up to Haywards Heath 4’s in a competitive Sussex Division 3 Central and were deemed ‘tough opponents’ for the Boars opening match. From the kick off the Heathfield pack were left in no doubt about the task as captain Kenny Lewis was isolated and lost the ball and the ref saw Mike MacLeod’s illegal attempt to re-gather the ball. The resulting penalty led to a period of sustained pressure on the Boars line. It was successfully repelled by some hard tackling and good relieving kicks from Brady Burdett.

After weathering this spell of pressure Heathfield began to show some flashes of adventure and felt that their strengths lay in running the BG pack around the field and attacking through the backs. This seemed to go well until a relieving kick from BG led to a penalty about 15 metres from the Boars line and the defence went to sleep and a big BG forward was allowed time to get some speed up and was only stopped once over the line. Much debate surrounded the grounding of the ball but the ref’s decision is final. Importantly BG missed the conversion.

Stunned by this the Boars needed a lift and they got it through some good vision, a lucky bounce and excellent chasing play. Brady Burdett had the vision to see a huge gap behind the BG right winger, the lucky bounce(s) took the ball to 1 metre and the good chasing came from Chris Jaques (who hit the full back hard enough to knock the ball out of his hands) and Guy Ellery (as fit a 45+ years old as you’ll see, or is his reading of the game that much better?) who pounced on the loose ball to score in the corner. Kenny Lewis missed the very difficult attempt at goal. The rest of the half was very hard fought (with Mike Brown, Kenny Lewis and Tony Rose outstanding in the loose) but scoreless.

Several changes were made at half time and these helped stabilise the Boars scrum which improved the ball for the backs. Among these substitutions was Julian Wates who responded well to his greeting from the referee (“Are you sure you will be OK in the backs!” see earlier comments about Boars centres and front row) with a trademark tackle which left an opposing centre on the deck and substituted shortly afterwards.

The game continued to be hard and keenly contested with an enjoyable ebb and flow of territory (a feature preferred more by the backs and spectators that the panting forwards). On a Heathfield foray into the BG half a bal was well won about 25 metres out from the posts and spun wide to Mike Jaques who sprinted past two despairing tackles to cross in the corner. Vitally he kept his composure and managed to ground the ball 15 metres closer to the posts. This allowed Dave Rhodes to kick the conversion and to give the Boars a lead at 12-5.

BG did not change at all after that and came back hard and strong and forced Heathfield back. The Boars were indebted to Mike Jaques again when BG had a clear 3-1 overlap and he twice managed to force the pass before contact and bundled the third player into touch.

The Boars forwards were clearly tiring and the continuous tackling (and running about on the big pitch!) took its toll when BG rounded off a spell of forward pressure with a rolling maul that gained the final 5 metres to score. With 15 minutes remaining the BG conversion kick might prove important and Boars spirits were lifted when the kick went just wide.

The Boars worked hard to defend their slender lead and a relieved team made it to the final whistle and a well deserved drink in the bar. Beer does taste better after a victory. That is unless it has a pickled egg in it which is what ‘man of the match’ Brady Burdett had to face in the post match ‘drink off’. Sadly the Boars lost that contest, perhaps future ‘man of the match’ awards might have to go to the faster eaters?

Boars Team – Mike MacLeod, Andy Sutton (Jason La Roche – 40), Steve Lester (Joe Geesin – 40), Simon Walker (Nick Evans – 40), Tony Rose, Ben Taylor (Anthony Manion – 60), Kenny Lewis (Jono Sharp – 40, Mike Brown (Matt Bernhauser - 60), Dave Rhodes, Brady Burdett, Duncan Hesketh, Adam Farrrell (Julian Wates - 35), Simon Hollingsdale, Chris Jaques (Mike Jaques – 40), Guy Ellery.

Report by: Mike MacLeod

9/9/2006 8:51:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Below is the British Rugby Club de Paris report from Dieppe which mentions our very own valiant Boars...

When I raised the bridesmaid trophy to the crowd, I saw pride in the eyes of BRFC's, then respect in other teams eyes, and I finally understood that, somewhere, we hadn't lost everything...

... Then flashes came back to my mind: Guy Grundy tackling sharply a Romanian 8 more than twice his weight going to the try line, Dave Mac Donagh & Eric Morell charging Brighton Rocks (was it from Joyce?), Arnaud Sautel and Rick Urquahrt playing like hornets, Yeti being the Tour eagle once more, Pete Mac Gahan discovering a new future as a decent prop, almost slapping a vampire prop, John Lloyd looking like a wild boar in mauls, injured Simon Goddard, beer in hand and cigarette in mouth running back to his car to take his kit to play the Romanians,

The forgotten "tchak" sound of Justin Southcombe tackles, cutting Brighton backs like oaks in Nottingham, Fred Bounous flying to support and deliver properly our last ball of the final, Eudes Le Gars back in business scoring the last conversion of the tournament, Lolo Cassotti finally awakening for the final, Christopher Bayle being himself... BP's cousins not believing BRFC experience... Roissies... Max, small Rick, Oli, and Resteg, what can I write without being accused of favouritism!

I can't forget this time to add something about our gals & kids, who shamelessly outnumber us for two years now, screaming support all along the tournament, managing to be seen but unheard when needed, would you believe that? We had to the honour to count in our squad Emily's Southcombe to be father, "who played for England", Neil Ackerman, name which, translated in French by the mike officer, became something like Gene Hackman! He smiled the way Justin did years ago when I told him his name meant "le peigne du sud" in French.

The morning after, I was chatting on the beach with Rick & John, kids running on the sand taking their clothes off before breaking the waves, mothers yelling behind, some players upon us around Derek hanging over on the promenade, and I felt eternity... an awfully nice feeling when you're on Dieppe Tour, because you're simply not able to imagine anymore that you'll be at work Tuesday! Decent sun, a club shared slight hangover, some beers to come before the closing lunch composed of beef ribs garnished with confited spring potatoes, a Bas Armagnac 65 to sip, and flashbacks showed up:

I knew there would be at least an English and a French team coming to play for the wood piece, plus the Romanians. I would have bet on Heatfield Waldron RFC (last year winner) or Weston Super Mare, Pontault Combault (ex Fédérale 2), and secretly prayed to avoid the vampires in our group (as last year finalist we would be head series and Bucharest not because they weren't qualified): I was wrong on everything!

Having been, well, almost serious the night before, we started versus an unknown Newick RFC team, a bit stressed because most of us didn't know each other (BRFC, BP, Roissy), and smashed them: 8 tries to 0, tremendous collective actions, a serious start up which would give all its capital result at the end of the day. Big Eric finally reached Dieppe to help us beating a rough Plaisir RC, a former winner but not competing anymore, final score 4 to 1 with some slaps.

 At the end of the day we faced what would have been a real quarterfinal for every club of the tournament: Dynamo Bucharest, the cops club from Romania Head city, composed of several former internationals, including one who played in the team who beat France in 92 for the only time. We got blood, sweat and joy by making a draw with them, qualifying us thanks to our goal average because Newick just lost 3 to 2 vs. them (there's no small English team!).

We defended our try line like British soldiers in Kipling songs, Yeti being awesome and giving the tone to everybody, with Derek and the girls kids tribe almost across the side line supporting us, breaking glass and attracting the whole mass of spectators to our pitch line.

Qualified for semi final for the third year in a row, we discovered that RC Auxerre, a long time tournament patron composed of a bunch of violent and drunk players (ex Fédérale 2) was this time ready and sober, then that Weston was there and not surprisingly the Brighton Calypsos, for their 12th appearance in 12 years was qualified too; I write not surprisingly because the were in the tent next to ours, almost 30 blokes, most of them 20 stones, some giants around 2 meters, and a brand new kit specially made for the tour, which is always a message when you know English clubs. Thanks to their letters at the jerseys backs instead of numbers, BRFC frogs didn't realize that some of the giants were backwards! The years before they usually showed up 10 or 12, begging for players to every team, being mercenaries the second day for every team as well.

Evening was quiet, everybody in bed around midnight, gals mob escaping to casino when we showed up, again unsurprisingly we already knew we would play Auxerre, because tournament committee, as every French in this case, whishing absolutely to avoid 2 teams from Albion in the final, made Brighton play Weston.

Semi final was rather different from our past games versus Auxerre, full of sound and fury. We were leading 2 tries to 0 after the first two kick offs! But then we got out of our spirit, Auxerre played a very serious game, scored just before half time and just after, and we had a very hard time to get ourselves back together to reach aftertime. You imagine the intermission speech during which the refs decided it would be a winning try end.

I don't remember much but after a few minutes and the first Auxerre attack on our 22 meters line, "Resteg" Stephane Pierresteguy from Roissy, intercepted between fly half and centre and took us to the final versus Brighton Calypsos, who beat Weston SM RFC 3 to 1: we were suddenly "the" French team to support once again.

Final was a dead end: gossip said the Brighton Calypsos was the 50th English club of senior league, and composed of a Sussex selection helped on the tour by some Heathfielders defeated in semi final: They were so massive and collective that they hit us hard first, scored a regular try, preventing us from playing by keeping hands on mauls balls to slow it, we died on their line at half time, and they scored again by the Heathfield centre who did us pain the year before. Then we monopolized the ball but they were really clever delaying actions, we finally scored a try by "Resteg" for honour and kept attacking, but it was too late like last year and lost 7 to 12. A brand new thing after pitch congratulations was that Auxerre players were waiting for us on our way to our tent to applause us, followed by the crowd, and then that we had to cross a second "exit line" from the girls who applauded us as much.

The rest was an icy shower at the beach initiated by the Simon G as usual, a cocktail hour in Veules Garden to spend instants between us and thank everybody, specially Vero "physio" Grundy, and the formal dinner, which must remain a tour secret, what going on tour...

Back in town I registered for the 13th Dieppe tournament at once, a week after journalists in local newspapers talked about "les britiches de Paris"...

9/4/2006 6:51:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)