Heathfield took to the field this week knowing that they had to make a big change to their mediocre performance the previous week if they were to get any points from their first League game of the season against a well prepared Eastbourne side.

Eastbourne drew first blood running through some weak Heathfield tackling to score. They were soon attacking again with their big powerful Full Back heading for the line only to be stopped by a massive tackle from the Heathfield 15, Baz Hunt. Eastbourne continued to push hard with their bigger forwards working several phases to take the score to 0 - 10.

Heathfield were now stung into action and late in the half were given a penalty. Sam Goacher punted the ball into the corner for a lineout. Heathfield playing advantage from an Eastbourne infringement attacked the line for Matt Overy to touch down with Sam Goacher converting. Heathfield attacked again straight from the kick off to be given a penalty 15 metres out. The ball bounced back off the posts Eastbourne knocked on and the half ended.

A half time roasting from coach Rob Lawrence focused the minds and a very different Heathfield set about Eastbourne with a new intensity. Heathfield soon won the ball and Ross Riley ran all the way from the Eastbourne 10m to score under the posts with Sam converting.

Heathfield are soon awarded a penalty on the Eastbourne 5m line. Matt Overy crashes the ball up to the Eastbourne defenders and knocks the ball on over the line. Eastbourne heal the resulting scrum but the ball comes out loose for the ever alert Lee Keylock to steal and score.

Heathfield continued to pile on the pressure for the next 10 minutes but were unable to add any more points. Eastbourne finished strongly and playing in the Heathfield half but the home sides determination held. One scrum 5 minutes from time showed Heathfield's new found grit. Eastbourne were awarded a scrum 15m out. Heathfield who had been pushed for much of the match by a bigger Eastbourne pack launched a massive 8 man shove and drove Eastbourne off the ball.    

11/12/2006 1:20:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

For the second successive weekend, all three Heathfield adult teams won – and on Sunday the club hosted more than 500 people in a mini-tournament plus matches for the U14 and Colts.  The clubhouse is being packed out with lots of happy people.
The Sussex League 1 match against Burgess Hill followed the current pattern of being decided by a single score.  This looked very unlikely in the first few minutes when the visitors made a faultless start with a clean catch and drive from a lineout near the Heathfield line giving them an impressive, although unconverted, try.  With the Heathfield scrum also under pressure it looked like a difficult afternoon for the home team, especially with late changes to the team due to illness.  Burgess Hill had first use of a variable but fresh breeze.

The shortage of first phase possession meant that good defense and making effective use of turnover ball were crucial for Heathfield and they steadily came back into the game.  The scores were levelled through a move at the front of a lineout 30 yards out which saw Rob Lawrence score his first try for the club in competitive games.
The rest of the first half became increasingly scrappy and the ref felt it necessary to send first a Burgess Hill centre and then Heathfield’s fly-half and captain Bryn Jones to the sin-bin.  The half ended with Burgess Hill pressing the green line but somehow the defence held up.  Having had use of the wind, they would have been disappointed with the 5-5 scoreline.

The second half was similar in character.  Although having the majority of possession Burgess Hill rarely created any chances as Heathfield’s defence proved very effective with Paul Flood and Simon Wilson prominent.  The Heathfield scrum was securing some possession, albeit awkward, thanks to some sterling work by the front five and by Andre Douglas in particular.

With the wind behind them, Heathfield spent long periods in the opposition half although they missed two penalties at this stage.  Then good handling in loose play set up Bryn Jones for a try under the posts although he contrived to miss the conversion (10-5).

At this point it looked as though Heathfield were in control but they failed to capitalise.   Burgess Hill kept competing well and again used their strength from the lineout to score another forwards try which was converted (10-12).
The game was still scrappy with most of the action in the Burgess Hill half and eventually the visitors had another player yellow-carded for dangerous play.  Bryn Jones now kicked two penalties, the first a long range effort from near the halfway line(16-12).  Kobe Tonkin and Paul Flood bravely stayed on although collecting painful injuries.

As is now customary, the last few minutes had the home supporters nervously studying their watches as Burgess Hill vainly tried to snatch a late win.

Heathfield coach Dave Jones was generally pleased with the performance, especially given the late disruption to the team.  This is a young team with several new faces (and more to come?) and it has taken time to come up to speed.  The first three league games were lost but now three have been won in a row.  With the lower teams all doing well, the season looks increasingly interesting.

11/11/2006 4:03:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

With one eye on next weeks cup semi final, the boars found themselves depleted in numbers on Saturday, with several players resting, and so went away against Burgess Hill 3rds with only 12 able bodies. (Actually it was only 11, but Dave Rhodes kindly offered to cover two positions!) Burgess Hill lent one and a half players to the boars to make the sides more even and play commenced with Heathfield playing down field for the first half.

It was Heathfield that caught the home side asleep quickly from the Kick off with an off load from centre Mike Barber for wing Simon Hollingdale to run into the corner. Kenny Lewis missed a difficult conversion to make it 5-0. This seemed to stir Burgess Hill, although their first score came rather fortuitously with a mistake from Heathfield in the backs, a loose pass found its way eventually to the wrong hands and the scores were level. A spirited try saving tackle from Mike Barber and some excellent running from Keith Davies were not enough to raise Heathfield though and two more Burgess Hill scores followed and the boars found themselves three-one down with what seemed like a long afternoon ahead.

But at half time a rallied cry from Captain Lewis of :“We can still win this!” seemed to stir the boars and soon after half time a brilliant break from a loose ball saw out of position Hooker Tom race almost three quarters of the pitch to score under the posts, which Lewis converted. The Forwards then really took the game to Burgess Hill making hard yards and winning the battle on the floor, with Ben Taylor and the ever present Kenny Lewis standing out. Dave Rhodes also made some excellent territorial kicks and this territory was rewarded soon afterwards as Brady Burdett sold yet another (now famous) outside dummy from the back of a scrum and sliced under the posts.

The win was sealed soon after, again from a good field position, when an attempted clearing kick from the Burgess Hill backs found its way to wing Hollingdale who, after dropping the catch backwards, collected and turned at pace to beat his man and score under the posts. A mention must also go to the Burgess Hill Full Back, lent to the Boars who had a great game and was stretched off near the end. Another Boars win makes it seven in a row now and the Boars must now look to make it eight next week. Any travelling support would be most gratefully appreciated for the Sussex Salver Semi Final at Crowborough Rugby Club with a kick off at 12.30. 

Report by Simon Hollingdale

11/11/2006 1:18:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

With a side showing many new faces, a long trip to Worthing and experienced and well drilled opposition Heath had a tough task on Saturday.  Kicking off with the wind meant we had to pile on the points before half time, easier said than done, only hard work in the forwards and some gritty tackling in the backs especially from Matt Skinner allowed us to turn around with a 10 nil lead.  This was achieved by an excellent try by Matt Skinner under the posts after his usual mazy run from the halfway line; inexplicably Chris English did not convert (probably nothing to do with the confident way he declined the use of the kicking tee, dropped kicked it and watched it slide off towards the corner flag).  Chris Jones also dropped in for a try in the corner, the argument raged long into the night, was it half a yard? Or was it three quarters of a yard he made for his try.

Turning around against the wind tested the determination and steel of all Heaths players, all three replacements came on and contributed to a hard fought out win.  Despite Worthing scoring a try and conversion and just missing a penalty under the posts and dominating many periods of the second half, Heath battled valiantly and were rewarded with a breakaway try in the final minutes by Matt Skinner.  All in all it was an excellent result grounded out by teamwork, some mentions should go to Chris Ambrosino who propped throughout, Jack Bayley at scrum half (not as easy as you think) and Duncan Hesketh who put some crunching tackles in the centre.  However man of the match went to Matt Skinner whose 2 tries, tackling and all round performance contributed to our victory.

Next game is at home to Uckfield 2nds on the 25th Nov with a well-earned rest weekend this Saturday.

11/11/2006 8:59:53 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield opened their 2006/2007 league season with an emphatic win over Edenbridge (playing in the Sussex Leagues for the first time), in a well fought game on the Cross in Hand pitch.

Heathfield started their scoring with a well-taken try from Ed Koops (his first league try for the club), which was closely followed by a fine individual try from prop Fraser Goatcher.

A further try by No.8 Alex Lester, for the home side ensured that Heathfield still held an 8-point advantage after an Edenbridge try and conversion.

The Heathfield forwards worked extremely well in both the set pieces and the rucks and mauls winning most of the ball to ensure that they continued to press home their advantage.

Good play by scrumhalf Rikki Zeitlin always ensured that Heathfield’s backs kept Edenbridge busy. Inside centre Jack Warren did some darting runs into the opponents half, with good support play coming from Alex Robbins, Owen Lewis and Caspian Kingdon.

Stand-off Oli Stables had a quieter game than normal but still managed to run in four tries, and his intelligent kicking over the Edenbridge backs helped to maintain the home side’s advantage.

Three further tries by Fraser Goatcher brought his tally to 4, the last one coming from a fine solo run by Ed Koops following an Edenbridge kick-off; the 2nd row forward ran from his own 10 metre line well into the opponents 22 before off-loading a fine pass to Fraser Goatcher, who was in close support, and who ran over the line to score.

A try from Caspian Kingdon, outside centre, and conversions from Jack Warren and fullback Freddie Long gave the home team a well-earned result.

11/5/2006 5:17:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

A determined Heathfield squad set out by bus for Bognor Regis looking to put right their lacklustre performance against Hove the week before. And put it right they did. The Bognor side contained four U16 players and looked large and menacing as a result. The opening skirmishes were tightly contested with Bognor holding the advantage in the lineouts and Heathfield the scrums. At halftime Heathfield held a narrow 15-5 lead which could well have been less.

Heathfield’s superior power in the forwards and their pace in the backs took its toll in the second half and an increasingly dispirited Bognor leaked five unanswered tries. The try scorers for Heathfield were Dayle Hollands with two (one from inside his 22), Nic Evans with 2 with his trademark sidesteps and gliding running, Callum Bridges, a new recruit at second row with his first for the club, Callum May from an excellent blindside pop from Will Chipchase, Oli Hancock with one of his thunderous 10 metre drives from a penalty and Ashley Sutton with a powerful burst down the narrowest of channels. Four conversions were slotted – 1 each by Jeremy Burdett and Greg Salmon, and 2 by Peter Phair. All in all an impressive result by a rejuvenated team

11/5/2006 5:15:07 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

On what turned out to be a glorious day for rugby in front of a packed home crowd (well one man and his dog, oh and Sleeders mum) Heath continued there run of good results in the league.

In all Heath ran in 7 tries, Jim Cummings started it off in the corner and also bagged another on in the second half, Matt Skinner also bagged his usual brace as well as 2 conversions.  Jack Bayley and Ben Woods also got a try each, this being the first of many we hope for young Ben in the league, oh and Julian managed a stroll under the posts in the second half [I'll gladly tell you all about this try in the bar if any of you are interseted!].

During a lack of concentration Heath conceded a try a conversion but all in all dominated possession throughout the game and played attractive running rugby.  The new policy of rotating the kicking duties (this is based on who is closest to the ball after each try) also resulted in conversions for Chris English and Jaimie Marchant.  After an excellent display in the tight and the loose with 2 excellent tries from sweeping attacking moves Jim Cummings was given man of the match.

Great report Shaun, whatever anyone else thinks I think it was well worth the wait!

11/5/2006 8:58:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Report by Mike de St Croix

11/4/2006 10:08:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The Boars continued their winning run in a vital match at East Grinstead. The Boars went into the game as league leaders knowing that the top 6 teams were playing each other and a win would establish their credentials.

After a slightly nervous warm up the Boars came out fast and hit East Grinstead hard from the start. Grinstead were strong in the forwards but Heathfield matched them and after only 5 minutes score with a well worked back move finished off with a strong run by winger Hollingdale. Lewis kicked the conversion

The Boars were passing the ball with confidence and asking questions of the Grinstead defence. This produced more points when Hollingdale popped a lovely pass to Rhodes as he was tackled. Rhodes made more ground and as the cover defence came to him passed to Cook who scored. Lewis missed the conversion.

The game then entered an evenly balanced phase with neither side making the best of their chances and defences on top. This was ended when the Boars made inroads into the Grinstead 22 and a defensive pass went to ground and Sharp was alert enough to kick the ball over the try line and win the footrace to score. Lewis missed the conversion kick.

Heathfield then weathered some Grinstead pressure before countering with a nice try from Barber after good work from Farrell to draw the defence to him. This was the last score of the half and the teams turned round at 0-24 in favour of the Boars.

Grinstead came out in the second half with a lot more determination and worked hard to dominate in the forwards. They received their reward when scrum half Charlie Brown collected a ball from a scrum, darted past Burdett and over to score.

The game turned back the way of Heathfield when Grinstead seemed to be making progress at a maul Jono Sharp suddenly emerged with the ball and made 20 yards before being hauled down. The Boars support was quickest to arrive and once again it was Cook in the right place to score. Cook went on to convert his own try.

East Grinstead was the next to score by putting huge pressure on a Boars scrum and as the Boars back row pushed in to help Grinstead  went right and James Pennington carried the ball over to score a converted try.

However the Boars would not leave it there and had the final score when the ball was recycled several time before being fed out to substitute John Long who scored with his first touch of the ball. This brought the game to a close at 12-36 and another win made sure that the Boars remained top of the league for another week.

Man of the match for the Boars was a clear and easy decision. Dave Cook won it for his classy display at number 8.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod (Walker – 70), J. La Roche, J. Geesin (A. Sutton – 40), P. Hookway, T. Rose, J. Sharp, K. Lewis (G. Robinson – 60), D. Cook, B. Taylor, B. Burdett, A. Farrrell, M. Barber, M. McDonald (J. Long - 65), S. Hollingdale (B. O’Neil - 60), D. Rhodes

Report by Mike MacLeod

11/4/2006 11:35:00 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield Boars 54 vs St Francis 2’s 7

The Boars went into this match with confidence high having scored 24 tries in their last 4 matches but aware that St Francis would provide stiff opposition. A significant factor in the recent run of results has been the amount of ball won by the forwards which has then been used well by the backs and this again proved the difference in this match.

The first 10 minutes of the match were evenly fought with both sides testing each other out. The onus was on the Boars as they had the advantage of the Waldron slope in this half and St Francis knew that a close score at half time would favour them.

Heathfield got the break they wanted about 15 minutes into the game when rookie winger Matt McDonald got the ball in space on the St Francis 10 metre line and out paced the defence to score in the left hand corner. Kenny Lewis set the standard of kicking for the afternoon by converting a difficult kick.

The next try was well worked and well taken. A ruck on the halfway line was won by Heathfield and a surprised Joe Geesin found himself acting as scrum half and passed to his equally surprised fellow prop Mike MacLeod at stand off. The ball then went rapidly down the line [bouncing along the floor if I remember correctly!] and Adam Farrell drew the last defender to him and offloaded to Matt McDonald to finish the move. Lewis missed a difficult conversion attempt.

Instead of motivating the Boars this stirred St Francis to greater effort and they applied sustained pressure for the next 15 minutes. The Boars defence coped well but Heathfield could not seem to get much time in their opponents half. With half time rapidly approaching the Boars seemed likely to be facing a long, hard, uphill battle to defend a two try advantage during the second half.

The game altered on two moments of individual brilliance. First the Boars were awarded a penalty on the St Francis 5 metre line; Dave Cook took a quick tap and charged at the gathering defence guessing rightly that they had not yet set themselves. He dragged two defenders over the line with him to score in the corner. Lewis kicked another difficult conversion from near the touchline.

Next up was Adam Farrell who used all his experience to wrong foot defenders 3 times [you mean he slipped] as he scored between the posts at the end of a 30 metre run. Lewis again converted to take the score to 26-0 at half time.

The halftime score flattered Heathfield and the team talk was about maintaining concentration and keeping things simple. This worked well as the Boars weathered the early pressure and countered after 10 minutes with a superb solo effort from Jack Bayley. Jack gathered the ball from a ruck just inside his own half and darted this way and that through a bemused St Francis defence to score between the posts. Kenny Lewis converted once again.

St Francis continued to play to their forward strength but the Boars were able to hold them and make ground through their backs. After another 10 minutes this led to a scrum on the St Francis 5 yard line being well won by the Heathfield pack and Dave Cook executed a classic number 8 pick up and drive to score his second try. Both teams then made a few substitutions and the game became less fluent and the St Francis pack started to win more ball at the set pieces.  

Even under this increased pressure Heathfield managed to fashion another two scores. First wild eyed winger Simon Hollingdale (who had been a threat all match) danced along the right touchline, just staying the correct side of the line while under pressure from two defenders, and then broke free to score between the posts. Dave Rhodes kicked the simple conversion. Then Julian Wates showed his strength and determination by ignoring a 2 man overlap [hmmm, I was bored with everyone else having all the fun...] to carry two defenders over the line with him from 5 metres out and again Rhodes kicked the conversion.

St Francis finally gained the reward of a score with the final move of the game. At a scrum on the Heathfield five metre line the St Francis pack pushed a fragmenting Boars scrum backwards and Matt Jeeter was first to react and he pounced on the ball as it crossed the Boars line. Jeeter went on to convert his own try and bring up the final score of 54-7.

Praise must go to St Francis for the way they played the game and kept going all through the match. The one sided score line reflects the clinical finishing of the Boars [hmmm interesting!] in a match where most things went right for the home side. The semi final of the Sussex Salver takes place on the 18th of November.

Man of the match for the Boars was close between Dave Cook, Jack Bayley and Matt McDonald. The award went to Jack Bayley as he was always there when needed and dangerous on the break.

[Its fun adding comments to your report Mike, I think I should create an alternative report every week - :)]

Boars Team – Mike MacLeod, Jason La Roche (Chris Ambrosino – 60), Joe Geesin (Bob Togher – 40), John Parsons (Rob Streeter – 55), Tony Rose, Mike Brown (Ben Taylor - 60), Kenny Lewis (Tony Wates – 65), Dave Cook, Jack Bayley, Duncan Hesketh, Julian Wates, Adam Farrell (Rob Such – 65), Matt McDonald, Simon Hollingdale (Mike Barber – 65), Dave Rhodes
 

10/31/2006 12:18:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Report by Mike de St Croix

Heathfield return to half-way following Paul Flood's (8) 2nd try

10/31/2006 11:19:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Despite appalling weather conditions a large crowd gathered at Cross in Hand to watch the Heathfield and Waldron Under 13s take on local rivals Hellingly in the first League encounter of the season.

All the hard work in training started to pay off as Heathfield took control of the game from the first whistle. Much of the first quarter was spent on the Hellingly 22 metre line

but despite creating numerous chances they could not turn them into points. Eventually the breakthrough came when the Heathfield pack drove for the line with some very dynamic rucking from the two Sams, Keylock and Saunters which forced an infringement from Hellingly. Full Back Matthew Barber stepped up and coolly slotted the penalty.

This lifted the Heathfield spirits and forwards and backs enjoyed a spell of territory and possession during which they played some of their best rugby of the season so far. Half back pairing Ollie Kent and David Bayly combined well and provided an excellent platform for the centres to attack with both Andrew Horsfall-Turner and captain Toby Warren making some strong and very direct runs through the Hellingly defence it looked like only a matter of time before one of them would score.

Yet Heathfield seemed to make hard work of it and as much as the forwards dominated they held onto the ball just a little too long and the final scoring pass eluded them. Relief came on the stroke of half time when a quick ball from the base of the scrum allowed fly half  David Bayly to run one of the club moves, dummying to his inside centre and executing a well timed switch with Toby Warren who burst straight through three tackles to score in the corner. Barber added the conversion from a tight angle and as the teams turned round for the second half Heathfield started to relax a little and play a more controlled game.

Hellingly came back strongly in the opening stages of the second half and their front five made some strong surges through the middle of the pitch which Heathfield did well to contain. The home side were clearly very determined not to let their opponents back into it and the backs in particular showed maturity as they handled the ball extremely well in the wet conditions. Full back Barber showed how to turn defence into attack as he cleanly took a high ball in his own half and opened up the play by cutting through the Helljngly midfield with a jinking run which stopped just short of the try line. In the ruck which followed powerhouse prop Bruno Halit was unstoppable as he took a quick pop pass and smashed through from five metres out. Barber again converted to create an unassailable lead.

In the closing stages it looked as though the floodgates would open as the Heathfield backs created numerous chances but to their immense credit Hellingly kept going and tackled their hearts out right to the final whistle.. Flanker George Wardle almost crowned an excellent performance with a try but the referee judged  a double movement in grounding the ball on the line.

All round an excellent first league win with particularly fine performances from newcomers Daniel Halls and Oscar Lacey and a welcome return to the fold for Ben Smith. The man of the match award went to Matthew Barber for his all round game and excellent kicking display in the difficult conditions.

Report by Mike Barber

10/22/2006 8:45:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Next weekend two of our sides are in Cup action.

The 1st XV are home to Park House in the National Powergen Vase and the Boars are playing  St Francis 2nd XV in the quarter-final of the Sussex Shield.

Hopefully there will be good cause to celebrate in the bar afterwards!

10/22/2006 8:41:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)     

Having lost their first three league matches by narrow margins, Heathfield hit top gear in front of a full house at Cross in Hand and played some scintillating rugby in windy conditions to defeat newly promoted Plumpton . Heath’s problem in their early games had been a lack of power up front which resulted in their fast and skilful backs lacking a platform to show their considerable talents. With the inclusion of extra weight in the front and second rows the Greenies backs, brilliantly led by skipper Bryn Jones, received good possession and ran in some superb tries. The three wingers used, Joe Riley, Levi Willis and Seb Jones scored two tries each and Bryn Jones scored one and kicked five conversions. Only the first try was scored by a forward which gives an indication of what a fast and open game the home side played.

Heathfield opened the scoring after just five minutes when Bruce Pestell broke loose inside Plumpton`s half. After one of his characteristic surges he received support from Jim Cumming who used his speed and strength to cross the try line. Before the crowd had time to catch their breath the forwards broke away again with Rob Lawrence linking with Dan Hunter-Evans who showed excellent running and handling skills before delivering a scoring pass to winger Joe Riley. Joe scored again a few minutes later after Damien Pestel made an opening to feed Sam Thewlis coming into the line. Once again the try hungry Riley finished with clinical precision.

Such is the strength of the Heathfield squad that Coach Dave Jones was able to introduce fresh players in the second half. The forwards continued to dominate their opponents and outplayed them at the breakdown and in the loose. Lee Vockins was an excellent link at scrum half and Bryn Jones was quite outstanding at No 10. His kicking was of the highest quality and, as is becoming customary, he scored another fine try. Seb Jones showed his speed and finishing capability by running in two tries under the posts and Levi Willis, who did not touch the ball in the first half delighted his considerable fan club by demolishing his opposite number to open his scoring account. The lead up to this score came from the backs, with Guy Woods and Damien Pestell prominent, moving the ball down the line in the sure knowledge that if Levi has only one man to brush aside a score is a formality.

Although the backs gave a splendid display of running and handling it is worth recording that two of the heavier Greeny forwards showed impressive power and skill in their ball carrying. Big Jim Cumming has delighted the Heathfield faithful for some years now and he had a fine match. But one of the most encouraging features of the afternoon was the performance of Dan Hunter-Evans who is learning the special skills of propping rapidly while showing us what a talented player he can be in open play. His running and handling skills for a big man are exceptional and there is no doubt that these two big fellows along with their forward colleagues contributed heartily to what was a terrific team performance. Providing Heathfield can win sufficient good ball in all phases there is no reason why they cannot feature amongst the leaders in Sussex 1.On Saturday they entertain old rivals Park House, one of the top teams in Kent Div 1 in the Powergen Vase. The kick off will be at2.30 at Cross in Hand.

Heathfield: Hunter-Evans, Lawrence, Burchett (Douglas), Cumming, Tonkin, Pritchard, B Pestell, Flood (Streeter), Vockins, B Jones, Willis, Woods, D Pestell, Riley (S Jones), Thewlis

Report by Mike de St Croix

10/21/2006 2:02:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)