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Senior Team News & Info
Youth Team News & Info
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Saturday, November 25, 2006
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Newick 2nd's 12 Heathfield Boars 7
The Boars ended their winning streak of 8 games when they came up against a resolute Newick side. The game was played on a rain sodden pitch in blustery conditions that suggested the forward battle was to come.
Heathfield had a disrupted warm up with several players arriving late and this showed in the early stages of the game as the forwards were not supporting each other with the commitment seen in previous games. Early territorial advantage was lost as Newick kicked for position. From a lineout on their own 22 metre line the Boars lost their own ball, then failed to tackle the ball carriers and Newick deservedly took the lead with a converted try. The Boars looked at each other and then went back to work with more passion. This passion saw Newick under considerable pressure in many phases of the game but always brave enough to tackle hard and intelligent enough to kick for position. The Boars forwards began to dominate in the scrums and the mauls while Newick had the edge in the rucking game.
The Boars came close to scoring on two occasions. First when the drove a maul 25 metres only to be brought down 5 metres short. Many referees would have given a penalty try for this. The second was the last action of the first half when Adam Farrell was just unable to ground the ball when held up over the line.
The decisive score of the game came just after half time when Heathfield were guilty of more sloppy tackling and a Newick back went over in the corner for an unconverted try.
Again Heathfield rallied and took the game to Newick. Again this involved domination by the Boars forwards who made plenty of hard yards only to be turned back by a good clearing kick or a penalty awarded against them. After 20 minutes of the second half this pressure paid off as Tony Rose made a half break close to the line and good support work saw Jason La Roche go over for a try. Kenny Lewis converted a difficult kick and it was game on.
Heathfield huffed and puffed in the Newick 22 metre line for most of the rest of the game but found the Newick defence to be very determined and well organised. As the clock ran down Heathfield captain Lewis was in the middle of a maul and grounded the ball over the try line only to be denied by the referee being in the wrong position and opting for a scrum 5 metres out. This was to be as close as the Boars got to levelling the scores.
This was an annoying game for the Boars as they dominated the game for large passages but Plan A did not pay enough dividends and there did not appear to be a Plan B.
Man of the match went to Tony Wates for his whole hearted performance.
Boars Team – M. MacLeod (C. Ambrosino – 60), J. La Roche, A. Sutton (B. Togher – 50), P. Hookway, T. Rose, S. Walker (J. Sharp - 65), K. Lewis, Tony Wates ,B. Taylor, D. Hesketh, M. McDonald (K. Davies – 70), A. Farrrell, R. Such, S. Hollingdale, M. Barber
Report by Mike MacLeod




 The Boars
11/25/2006 9:07:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Seaford 1st's 6 Heathfield 1st's 18
On a day when the rest of the UK is enjoying a day of still calm, you can still expect a steady breeze on the front at Seaford. So a forecast of near-gale force winds made Heathfield regard their visit to Seaford for a Sussex Division 1 match with some trepidation.
Playing into the 30 mph wind for the first half, Heathfield pleased coach Dave Jones by played according to plan. The forwards rucked and mauled effectively with only rare wider movements. Seaford are normally known for their strong pack but on this occasion the younger and lighter Heathfield eight took the game to their opponents and frequently made many yards. Given the conditions the lineout was always going to be difficult and the Seaford ball was often disrupted. However Mark Walker had a complete monopoly of the ball at the front on the Heathfield throw-in to the extent that Seaford gave up trying to oppose him. Heathfield were thus able to set up their driving maul to great effect.
Additionally the green scrummage was the most solid so far this season and achieved three strikes against the head so for a change first phase possession was secure. In spite of the conditions most of the first half was spent in the Seaford half.
Nonetheless the first score came from Seaford after several penalties against the visitors at the breakdown, to the considerable irritation of the Heathfield coach who had wanted his team to reduce their errors in this area. The Seaford kicker showed his familiarity with using the wind and made no mistake from the ten metre line. (3-0)
Heathfield drove back upfield and after a period of pressure were just denied in the right hand corner. Strangely Seaford, instead of using the wind, tried a short 22 drop-out which did not work, Heathfield regained possession and some good handling saw Jo Reilly finish well in the left-hand corner. Bryn Jones’ conversion into the gale was only just wide. (3-5)
Seaford replied with another excellent long-range penalty from just inside their own half (6-5) but this just spurred the visiting pack to even greater efforts and they finally worked Bruce Pestell over for another unconverted try. (6-10)
Seaford missed another penalty opportunity shortly before half-time at which point it seemed that Heathfield had done the hard work and that, using the conditions, they could control the game and build a good score. However a combination of handling errors by Heathfield and the fighting determination of the home team meant that this did not happen. On two occasions, kicks by Heathfield from their own half ended up over the opposition dead-ball line resulting in a scrum back.
Simon Wilson made any number of good breaks and gained many yards throughout the game so he deserved his try that followed another good lineout catch and drive. (6-15)
The game became scrappier as the Seaford pack became more effective and their fly-half made several good breaks. However the green line was not seriously threatened apart from one occasion when the referee erroneously blew his whistle just as Seaford looked likely to score in the corner following a Heathfield fumble. The referee, who otherwise had a decent game, was unfortunately unsighted in respect of one regrettable incident that could have seen the home side reduced to 14 men for at least ten minutes.
In the last few minutes a period of sustained pressure near the Seaford line resulted in a drop-goal for Bryn Jones (6-18) and although the home team kept trying throughout considerable stoppage time the result was no longer in doubt.
Next Saturday (2nd December 2.15pm) Heathfield entertain Uckfield in what is always a keenly contested game irrespective of the relative league positions. However this year the game could have a major impact on the top half of the table so ‘viewing is strongly recommended.’
Report by Phil Bell
Heathfield:Drinkwater, Reilly, Hole (sub Matt Walker), Damien Pestell, Willis, Jones, Vockins, Burchett, Lawrence, Douglas, Mark Walker, Tonkin, Flood (sub Pritchard), Bruce Pestell, Wilson. 1st XV
11/25/2006 11:33:19 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Sunday, November 19, 2006
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Heathfield U15's 31 Chichester U15's 10
The teams agreed to play 3 x 20 minutes thirds to enable their large squads all to get rugby and Heathfield entertained a strong Chichester side for the first time on Sunday (at Waldron).
The game kicked off and soon the powerful Heathfield pack had the visitors under pressure keeping the ball for long periods with good rucking and driving play. New flanker Abbott recently joined the club from Tunbridge Wells and playing in his first game for his new club scored after only five minutes handing off powerfully and scoring under the posts. Burdett slotted the conversion. But Chichester then got back into the game through their powerful outside centre, who beat some very poor tackling and scored two tries within ten minutes to put Chichester ahead 7-10. The home team pack then upped its efforts at scrum time and their tackling also improved with Iqbal, Lacey and van Rensburg, in the backs and back row Hollands and Platt putting in some good tackles. Chichester went close on two occasions but for try saving tackles by Scott and Phair, looked extremely promising.
It wasn’t until the last twenty minutes that Heathfield really cut lose. Sutton moved to inside centre and the pacey Hollands went to outside centre. This had an immediate affect - good driving play by Darcy set up a ruck and the ball was spun out by Chipchase to Burdett whose pop found Sutton screaming down the middle unstoppable. Burdett converted. More ball went down the line with Phair and Hollands combining well with Scott, before captain Matt Halls drove over to finish great team score. Good driving play again saw Sutton on the scissors hitting the line well. His drive was powered on by Platt and quick ball was sent down the backs, with flanker Salmon throwing a delightful miss pass to Phair who brilliantly stood his man up and went round him to score in the corner.
The final try was “out and out” speed and power. Once again the forwards created the platform with Bridges, Keylock and Hancock doing the “Donkey Work”. Quick ball down the backs gave Hollands all the space he needed and from the half way line, his change of direction was too much for the Chichester defence to cope with and he scored a truly blistering try. Burdett converted. Tackle of the day also went to Burdett who in typical “Greg Salmon” fashion dumped the Chichester forward backwards to round off a fine afternoons work.
Squad; Hancock, Hope, Keylock, Watkins, Darcy, Horsfall-Turner, Bridges, Tyler, Platt, Halls, Hollands, Salmon, Abbott, Chipchase, Marshall, Burdett, Evans, Phair, Van Rensburg, Scott, Iqbal, Sutton, May, Lacey
U15's
11/19/2006 7:59:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Rye Colts 21 Heathfield & Waldron Colts 24
Heathfield took to the field with 14 players unavailable either through Sussex Training or injury. It is a sign of the strength of the club that 16 good players were able to make a team although a handful played out of their customary positions.
Heathfield started with a purpose and spent much of the first 10 minutes in the Rye half. Early pressure saw Sean then Joseph nearly over the line and then TJ bursting over but unable to get the ball down. From the resulting scrum Heathfield won the ball and Sean drove through to score. Joseph missed the conversion but did receive £15 for cutting the grass.
From the restart Baz fielded the ball on his own 22m line and proceeded to burst through 6 tackles and just outside the Rye moved the ball To Charlie who then moved it to Ross who ran in to score under the posts. Sam converted to make it 0 - 12.
Heathfield were now dominating the match and won a lineout on the half way line. Jake broke away from this and after a long run moved the ball to Charlie who was stopped just short but he managed to move the ball back to Jake who scored with a dive that puts Drogba to shame.
Rye, rather than dropping their heads picked up their game spending time in the Heathfield 22 and after mistakes and some poor defense from Heathfield touched down and converted. Another Rye try followed with more poor tackling from Heathfield. 14 - 19
Into the second half and Heathfield with their rugby heads back on started taking the game to Rye. The forwards were now making the hard yards with Dom, Hussein, Sean & Phil all carrying the ball well. Good possession then allowed Anthony to release the backs to run the ball at will with great lines from Sam & Charlie.
It was from a series of rucks and drives that Dom drove over under the posts to score. Sam converts. Next it was Rye's turn to run back and score a converted try under the posts. Most of the last 10 minutes went to Rye as Heathfield struggled to regain their composure.
The game ended 21 - 24. Man of the Match Sean Dorrill happy with the win but looking for a more constant performance next week against Pulborough Colts.
The Cast
The Bone Heads The Pretty Boys
Hussein "Moose" Nikouei Anthony "Ant" Hicks
"Dainty" Dom Hodge Joseph "The Hit Man" Salmon
Jake "Twinkle Toes" Donnebar Sam "I blame the ref" Goacher
Danny "Boy" Bazen Charlie "The real deal?????" Jones
Jack "& the beanstalk" Layfield Tom "TJ" Hollyman
Phil "Goosey" Gander Ross "Man of mystery " Riley
"Smokin" Joe Cannella Baz "the mop" Hunt
Sean "Rocky" Dorrill Guest appearance from the bench by Tom
"ooh my shoulder hurts" Ingram
Architect of Victory: Chris "Woodward" Salmon
On the bottles: Dangerous Dave Hodge
On vocals: Sasha "my mops as bad as Baz's" Hunt
On the wet sponge: Graeme Hicks
Transport Manager: Eileen Dorrill who would like to offer a massive vote of thanks to the RAC. U18's (Colts)
11/19/2006 6:27:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, November 18, 2006
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Crowborough 2nd's 0 Heathfield Boars 17
Boars reach Salver Final
The Boars reached the final of the Sussex salver competition by overpowering a speedy Crowborough 2’s side in an excellent game of rugby. It was a game of two styles and each team had the opportunity to win but it seemed as if the Boars had more belief and desire.
The teams came out on a cold bright afternoon with very little wind and were welcomed by a sizable crowd. From the Heathfield kick off Crowborough suffered the first of several injuries when their number 3 took a blow to the head and had to be replaced. At the scrum that followed it was clear that the Boars could dominate this phase of the game.
Another key psychological moment in a match is the first contact with your opposite number and Julian Wates ensured that his opponent (and all his team mates) knew what lay ahead when he cut dead the first Crowborough attack with a thunderous tackle on his opposite centre. The crunching impact was audible and the Heathfield supporters loved it.
So the game began to take shape with the Boars making use of their forwards and Crowborough trying to play an expansive game. The Boars tactics were working better and this paid off after 20 minutes when Jim Cumming broke from the Crowborough 10 metre line and reach the 22 before being brought down. The Boars reached the ball quickly and drove to the 5 metre line before being stopped again. Tony Rose grasped the ball and twisted right which drew the last defenders to him before the ball was popped to Brady Burdett to score between the posts for a try converted by Kenny Lewis.
MacLeod caught the restart kick and popped a lovely ball to Cook who carried for 20 metres to put the pressure back on Crowborough. Within 5 minutes Heathfield gained their second score when La Roche gained a crucial hook against the head on the Crowborough 5 metre line. The Boars scrum made forward progress and the Boars number 8, Dave Cook, timed his pick up and drive perfectly to score. Lewis missed the difficult conversion attempt.
The Boars had most of the territorial advantage but could not add to their score so it remained 12-0 at half time.
Crowborough must have had a positive half time team talk as they came out a much more determined and organised side. For the best part of 30 minutes Crowborough camped in the boars half and tried to prise open the Boars defence. They tried left then right and through the middle without making a serious breach thanks to excellent work by every single Boar. Several of the older Boars were starting to show signs of fatigue and were substituted.
The game was still in the balance but time was running out when the Boars killed the game with a breakaway try. Heathfield had reached the halfway line and were trying to stay there when Adam Farrell spotted the Crowborough winger had pushed up too far and put a grubber kick through to the 22 for Boars winger Simon "twinkle toes" Hollingdale to chase and show why he is the Boars top scorer. Hollingdale chose to kick on and won the race to ground the ball before it went dead. This proved to be the last meaningful action of the game and the Boars began to celebrate.
Man of the match went to the oldest Boar, Mike MacLeod, for his all round performance.
Boars Team – M. MacLeod (B. Togher – 70), J. La Roche, J. Geesin (R. Burchett – 50), J. Cumming, T. Rose, J. Parsons (M. Brown - 50), K. Lewis (B. Taylor – 60), D. Cook, J. Bayley, B. Burdett, J. Wates, D. Hesketh (M. McDonald – 60), A. Farrrell, S. Hollingdale, D. Rhodes (R. Such – 70) sub not used M. Barber
Report by Mike MacLeod









 The Boars
11/18/2006 10:20:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Sunday, November 12, 2006
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Heathfield Colts 19 Eastbourne Colts 10
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.
Final Score Heathfield & Waldron 19 - Eastbourne 10.
Man of the match Matt Overy U18's (Colts)
11/12/2006 1:20:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, November 11, 2006
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Heathfield 16 Burgess Hill 12
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.
1st XV | Latest News
11/11/2006 4:03:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Boars win again...v Burgess Hill 3rd's
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)
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Worthing 4ths 7 v Heathfield 2nds 15, 11th November
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. Development Team | Latest News
11/11/2006 8:59:53 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, November 10, 2006
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Accomadation
Dear All,
As many of you know the club now employs a Youth Development Officer in Rob Lawrence. We are currently looking for acommodation for Rob as his current lease runs out in December.
If any of you have or know of a house/flat/granny flat etc which would be available then could you please let me know
Dave Rhodes
Club Chairman
Latest News
11/10/2006 1:32:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Sunday, November 05, 2006
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Heathfield U14's 59 Edenbridge U14's 7
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.
U14's
11/5/2006 5:17:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Heathfield U15's 48 Bognor U15's 5
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
U15's
11/5/2006 5:15:07 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Heathfield 2nds 43 v East Grinstead 2nds 7, 4th November
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! Development Team | Latest News
11/5/2006 8:58:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, November 04, 2006
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Crawley 1sts 23 Heathfield 1sts 25
Sussex division one is a very competitive league this season with a number of well matched sides all striving for promotion. Heath field experienced another very close contest but led throughout the match and deserved to scrape home by just two points. Although Crawley had the stronger pack of forwards which dominated the forward exchanges for long periods, Heath played the better all round game and it was their running style of rugby which eventually won the day. There was another outstanding display by the Greenies skipper Bryn Jones who made some wonderful breaks and set up most of Heath fields tries. There was a welcome return performance by Simon Wilson at No 8 and another quality game by Mark Walker who again commanded the lineout and was the visitors outstanding forward in the loose. The front row continued their improved form with Rob Lawrence throwing with great accuracy and orchestrating some good scrummaging against a strong and aggressive Crawley eight.
Within twenty minutes Heath field were 17-0 ahead through three beautifully constructed tries. In each case they won good ball, twice in open play and once from a set scrum. In each case Jones was pivotal with the break, once completely bamboozling the Crawley defence with one of his dummies. For the first two tries the ball was passed sweetly down the line with strong running by Damien Pestell and Dan Mitchell for the scores to be completed by Sam Thewlis and Will Drinkwater.The third try was created by Simon Wilson with a strong run from the base of the scrum for Damien Pestell to conjure a solo try out of nothing with a surging run down the narrow side.
After this excellent start Heath field allowed Crawley to get back in the game and nearly allowed themselves to be overtaken. However to their credit they hung on, scoring a well taken break away try by Bruce Pestell who took advantage of some sloppy play by Crawley early in the second half to hack ahead from the ten metre line and score near the posts. However this was one of few remaining highlights for Heath field in a game they should have won more comfortably. For most of the second half Crawley exposed the lack of muscle and know how of the Heath field forwards and by scoring two tries out wide showed that Heath are good going forwards but are prone to fragile tackling at the back.
However this was a fine and most welcome victory and Heathfield who face another much improved side in Burgess Hill at home this Saturday
Report by Mike de St Croix 1st XV
11/4/2006 10:08:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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East Grinstead 3rd's 12 Heathfield Boars 36
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




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