In one of the closest and most exciting Sussex Division 1 league matches of the season, Heath field defeated a strong East Grinstead side who had been near to toppling league leaders Horsham the previous weekend. Having lost by only three points at East Grinstead at the beginning of the season, Heath field took the game to their opponents from the first whistle and scored after only four minutes with a typical three-quarter move involving fly half Bryn Jones, inside centre Damien Pest ell and finally the rapid and elusive Sam Thewlis who touched down. Bryn Jones converted.

East Grinstead then set to work to repair the damage and their large pack and very skilful Colts scrum half created major problems for the home side. East Grinstead with a strong front row and a six foot eight inch tall lock proceeded to win a monopoly of set piece possession, especially in the lineout. Heath field had problems at the base of the scrum where the visitors managed to escape punishment from the referee and consequently succeeded in spoiling much of Heath field’s possession from the set scrum. Although they were starved of quality possession for long periods the Heath field pack tackled ferociously, contested every break down situation and manufactured some sensational turnovers which kept their talented three quarters interested. Not for the first time this season the Greenies were up against a powerful pack but they enjoyed dominating a  three-quarter line which was bereft of pace and skill.

East Grinstead scored a try after forward pressure on fifteen minutes and extended their lead to a point with a penalty goal just before half time.

At the beginning of the second half Heathfield replaced the injured Tom Pritchard with Paul Flood and brought the powerful Levi Willis into the fray in place of Will Drink water. Neither Levi nor Flood are shrinking violets and both had an early impact on Heath field’s play in the second half with a number of muscular runs into the heart of the opposition defence. Soon after an incursion into the East Grinstead 22 by Flood the ball was fed to Damien Pest ell on the burst for him to stretch Heathfields lead by five points. East Grinstead continued to provide extremely stern opposition but thanks to the home sides fitness and determination were unable to add to their points tally whereas Heath field scored another penalty before the Pest ell brothers who have been a vital part of Heath fields success this season scored a try apiece to close out the game at 25points to eight.

Although the admirable and courageous Greenies pack did amazingly well against physically larger opponents, this was a day when the exciting Heath backs made the difference on a pitch which, inspite of many hours of rain was in excellent condition for running rugby. It was a day when Heathfield showed they have one of the best pitches in Sussex as well as one of the most exciting teams.

Report by Mike de St Croix.

2/24/2007 8:33:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Crowborough 3’s 0 vs. Heathfield Boars 65

After last weeks poor performance it was important that the Boars got back to winning ways. Captain Lewis elected to play with the slope in the first half to seek an early advantage and gain momentum. This was quickly rewarded by winger Hollingdale fending off 3 tackles to score in the bottom corner.

Shortly afterwards Sam Goatcher, a colt playing his first senior game, ran a lovely angle to break the defence and score a try he then converted himself. Not satisfied with this Goatcher broke outside his man 10 minutes later and ran in a try from outside the 22 metre line. Burdett then showed the new generation his patented dummy moves as he shimmied over for a converted try. Not to be outdone Hollingdale then bagged his second with a strong run and Burdett kicked the conversion.

Goatcher clearly found senior rugby to his liking as he racked up his third try of the half with a simple line break through some weak tackling before kicking the extra points. Much of the scoring was coming from excellent quick ball won by the Heathfield forwards. It was a no nonsense performance by a lightweight Boars pack for whom Hookway and Farrell were outstanding.

The forwards got a reward when Walker pounced on a loose ball in the Crowborough goal area after a 5 metre lineout. That ended the first half scoring and the teams turned around at 41-0. Now it was time to see if the Boars forwards could contain their heavier opponents when they had to play uphill.

The Boars need not have worried as the Crowborough pack huffed and puffed but could not break down a dogged Boars defence and the Heathfield backs made use of any ball they were given. Burdett pulled the strings to release Goatcher for his fourth try early in the half and the biggest cheer of the day came when Hesketh crashed over from 10 metres after a tapped penalty move. This was the hard working Hesketh’s first try for the H&WRFC and no one deserved a try more.

Next to score was Burdett who benefited from an unselfish pass from substitute centre Squires to score near the posts with Lewis converting. The icing was put on the cake when Farrell ran three quarters of the pitch to score after a Crowborough forward rumble was disrupted. The final whistle went shortly afterwards and heralded the highest margin of victory in the Boars history suggesting that the Boars are ready for their rather tough final few league games, starting next week at home to Eastbourne Gold.

The Boars Man of the Match was Adam Farrell who put in a good shift at blindside flanker.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp, A. Sutton, P. Hookway, S. Walker, A. Farrell, K. Lewis (G. Ellery – 70), G. Robinson, B. Taylor, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, S. Goatcher (P. Squires – 65), S. Hollingdale, K. Davies (M. Barber – 60), M. McDonald

2/24/2007 10:03:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Hellingly punish sloppy Boars

After the excitement of the Salver Final the Boars returned to the league competition and were ambushed by a committed Hellingly side. The Boars looked out of sorts even in the warm up and were punished for some dire tackling throughout the game.

Hellingly scored 3 unanswered tries in the first half hour. Their first came as S. Gower waltzed through the Heathfield backs to score between the posts. The second was similar as tackles were missed and the Hellingly right winger scored. The next was a forward effort with a catch and drive at a lineout allowing Blake to score.

Heathfield finally came to life after this and Jason La Roche scored off the back of a rolling maul started by Rose catching at the lineout. Lewis kicked the conversion. Unfortunately more bad tackling allowed John Cooley to score Hellingly’s fourth just as the half time whistle went.

Tough talking at half time seemed to have worked when the Boars scored almost immediately after the kick off. The kick was caught by Hellingly but the Boars forwards drove the Hellingly player back 20 metres and into touch. The ball was won at the lineout and Adam Farrell cut a good inside line and was unstoppable as he broke 3 tackles to score.  Again Lewis kicked the conversion.

The Boars were now on their game and pressing well. However the next score was a real blow as Burdett attempted a long floated pass but this was well intercepted and Edwards ran 60 yards to score for Hellingly. This settled Hellingly and S Gower got his second of the day for Hellingly as Heathfield heads dropped.

A brief flicker of hope was kindled with 10 minutes left when Burdett dummied his way past a couple of defenders to score in the corner but this was extinguished with the final Hellingly try from D. Gower. Francis then kicked his 5^th conversion out of seven attempts as the final whistle went.

The Boars Man of the Match was Tony Rose a genuine team player at second row.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, Jason La Roche, A. Sutton, P. Hookway, T. Rose, S. Walker, K. Lewis, T. Wates, B. Taylor, B. Burdett, A. Farrell, S. Hollingdale, K. Davies, J. Henry, B. Woods

Reprt by Mike MacLeod

2/17/2007 10:40:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield recorded a comfortable win at Plump tons delightful racecourse ground last Saturday. The home side, who have been up against it in Sussex Division 1 played with great spirit and had a territorial supremacy for much of the second half. By this stage however Heath fields speed and fitness had ensured victory in a game which was entertaining for the spectators and which was played at a brisk pace and in the best spirits of the game. Players and spectators alike had a most enjoyable afternoon.

As befits a team in form who are currently scoring a lot of tries, Heath field started at a furious pace and only over complication and some spilled passes prevented really heavy scoring in the first half when the visitors were playing down the slope. Damien Pestell scored the first try cutting inside and threading through the Plump ton forwards. The back row then high jacked the scoring with fine tries by Paul Flood, Simon Wilson and Bruce Pestell. Just before half time skipper Bryn Jones decided that the backs should get involved with scoring again and scored a try which he converted himself to add to two earlier conversions. The half time score was 31-0 which reflected the domination by the visitors.

The ubiquitous Tom Pritchard had a fine first half standing in again for Rob Lawrence at Hooker and Andre Douglas proved his full recovery from fractured ribs by holding his own against a very ample front row. Both were substituted at half time and Rob Lawrence and Matt Ryan enjoyed themselves in tight and loose in a second half which was more sternly contested by Plump ton. Although Plump ton had much more of the game playing with the slope, Heath field’s style of play settled the result with three excellent tries from the speed merchants Seb Jones, Sam Thewlis and Mike Hole. This was yet another good team performance by a side who are enjoying their rugby. There are some big games ahead but the Greenies look as though they are capable of rising to the challenges which face them. One of the gratifying aspects of their play is the fact that the younger players like Seb Jones, Mark Walker, Dan Hunter-Evans and Tom Pritchard are improving with every game and are making very positive contributions to the success of the team.

Report by Mike de St Croix

2/17/2007 8:29:57 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The Boars became the first team from Heathfield & Waldron RFC to appear in the final of a Sussex knock out competition but were not able to become the first side to win one.

The team travelled by coach to Burgess Hill, accompanied by a large party of supporters, determined to win by playing fast open rugby to try and tire a big Horsham pack. Hearts sank a bit when the Burgess Hill pitch turned out to be a quagmire after all the rain and snow of the previous week. These would not be ideal for the type of rugby the Boars wanted to play.

Boars captain Lewis won the toss and chose to play up the slope. From the kick off Heathfield ran the ball and Horsham showed that they were up for it as they defended strongly. Before the match the Boars had been concerned about the front row battle at the scrums but were pleasantly surprised when they coped well with their heavier opponents even when pushing uphill.

It quickly became clear that this was to be a close match. Both sets of forwards worked hard to deny space and time and found that every metre gained would be hard won. Neither side made much ground through the centres as each runner was brought down hard. It was difficult to assess who had the edge out wide as the ball rarely travelled out that far in the difficult conditions. So it was clearly a day for hard work, courage and the elimination of mistakes. It was also a day to have a good kicker and stand off Burdett proved that he could vary his natural running game and gained many yards with his accurate kicks.

After a very even first 10 minutes the Boars began to assert some control on the game and play in their opponents half. After about 20 minutes of the game a rare moment of wing play saw Jack Bayley make good yards up the left, the ball was recycled right and a Horsham player knocked on trying to intercept 15 metres in front of his posts. Heathfield had a steady scrum and from this platform Cook and Jaques broke and this allowed Jaques to dummy past the opposition to score under the posts. Rob Woods kicked the conversion to take the score to 7-0.

Heathfield seemed to relax after this and played better for it. A good break from Cumming almost led to a second score as he was held up close to the line he popped the ball to Parsons who crossed over only to be denied as the ball was held up rather than grounded. A further opportunity was spurned when Heathfield missed a penalty kick attempt and even the ensuing 5 yard scrum failed to yield additional points. The lack of additional points during this 20 minute period of dominance was to cost the Boars dear.

At a lineout the referee called the last play of the half and the buoyant Boars went for a ‘killer’ second score. Sadly this proved an error. Cook charged deep into the Horsham half then tried to pop a pass to a supporting player but the ball went to ground. A Horsham player put a boot to the ball and it landed on the halfway line. Both Horsham and Heathfield had players scurrying for the ball but another Horsham boot as the ball in the Boars 22 and while the footrace was won by Boars winger Hollingdale Horsham got sufficient support there to drive over for a converted try and bring up a half time score of 7-7. This did not reflect the balance of the first half and the Horsham players looked like they had got out of jail.

The second half was the same hard slog as the first with both teams making substitutions as the deep mud sapped the strength and speed from players. Horsham were playing better this period with most of the game being played in the Heathfield half. After 15 minutes they got the break that settled to match. At a scrum on the Boars right Horsham retained their put in, spun the ball to their right past the centres and out to their winger. Heathfield had a good drift defence and 3 Boars had the chance to put in a saving tackle but none stuck and the try was conceded. The conversion kick was missed leaving a 5 point gap.

There was plenty of time left but as bodies tired in the mud the Boars could not play the rugby they needed to produce to break the stout Horsham defence. The forwards battered on their opponents and the backs did their best to pass a greasy ball fast enough to gain some space but to no avail. By the time that the referee announced that it was the last play of the game the Boars did not have the energy or opportunity to mimic Horsham’s success of the first half. 

The Boars came off the pitch having given their all. Two errors had been punished in the harshest possible fashion and the Boars half chance had not been taken. This proved the only difference on the day. The Heathfield team and their supporters returned to their clubhouse in good spirits and celebrated the experience of being in a final long into the night.

Man of the match went to the youngest Boar, Mike Jaques, for his hard work in poor conditions topped of by his try. Special commendations go to Jim Cumming and Dave Cook for their immense contribution in the forward battle.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. La Roche (T. Wates – 55), B. Togher, J. Cumming, T. Rose (S. Bayley – 40), J. Parsons, K. Lewis (B. Taylor – 60), D. Cook, M. Jaques, B. Burdett, J. Wates, D. Hesketh, J. Bayley (A. Farrrell – 65), S. Hollingdale (M. McDonald – 40), R. Woods

Substitutes not used J. Geesin, G. Ellery

Report by Mike MacLeod

2/11/2007 5:54:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Having convinced the league administrators that a replay of the game played between the two clubs two weeks earlier was both necessary and within the rules, Crawley travelled to Cross in Hand with a stronger side and were duly defeated  by a wider margin than in the original encounter between the two Sussex Division 1 sides. Most of the home teams loyal supporters were mystified that the match was being replayed but they enjoyed watching a gutsy and skilful display by their team. This time the outcome of the match was not questioned.

Heath field kicked off, won possession deep into the Crawley 22 and Bryn Jones ran powerfully to score an unconverted try .If Crawley were wondering whether the home side were up for the rematch they discovered the answer almost immediately when the home thee quarters with the evergreen Guy Woods prominent moved the ball wide for Mike Hole to score a fine try in the corner which Jones converted from the touchline. Heath field were ahead by twelve points with only five minutes played.

After their excellent opening the home team were dominated for much of the half by a powerful Crawley pack who came close to scoring on a number of occasions. But Heath fields tackling was brave and efficient and wave after wave of Crawley attacks close to the scrum were repelled by a superbly organised defence. During this period Heath conceded a number of penalties and Kobe Tonkin was sin binned for consistent infringing. Although Heath fields seven men pack struggled manfully with veteran Rob Streeter and the experienced Paul Flood to the fore, Crawleys efforts were eventually rewarded by a single try from a forward drive.

Any hopes of getting back into the game which the visiting side may have built up had was knocked out of them by their three quarters inability to contribute in any way to their performance and also by another Heath field try through Will Drinkwater.The visitor’s misery was compounded by Heath field adding another try by the excellent Flood after a strong drive by the home forwards. This try was converted and the score at half time was 24 -5.

The second half produced some good play by both sides but hard as Crawley tried to reduce the Greenies lead they could not make any impression on the fit and very focused home team. The referee became frustrated with Heath field killing the ball too often after tackles and issued another Yellow card, this time to Paul Flood. But Heathfield`s fitness told and they concluded their hat trick of victories against Crawley in fine style.

This was another splendid team performance with the forwards defending stoically and winning some valuable turnover ball. The lineouts went well with Mark Walker again winning most of Heath fields throws. The game was well controlled at half back by the talented Welsh duo of Nick Cherry and Bryn Jones but the outstanding performances were by two  Heath field veterans who were selected by coach Dave Jones to ”do a job”. Both Rolo Streeter in the pack and Guy Woods at inside centre had magnificent games, tackling for their lives and carrying the ball powerfully whenever they had the opportunity.Streeter played the full 80 minutes and was still fresh at the final whistle.Guy suffered a recurrence of a neck injury and will require physiotherapy before he is required for another key match.They were the toast of the club after a thoroughly workmanlike job well accomplished

Report by Mike de St Croix

2/10/2007 6:54:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Dear All

We had to take the field on Sunday for our final league match of the season against Eastbourne with a squad of 14 team-members. The team did fantastically in the circumstances and we were lucky we only had to retire one player through a slight injury.

However, this has highlighted that we need some more players to ensure we can always field a squad of 18, after allowing for absences, injuries etc. Right now the entire squad size is just 20 and at the end of the season a couple of players will be moving away from Sussex.

The purpose of this e-mail is therefore to enlist all your help with recruitment. The coming couple of weeks are a particularly good time for new players to come along and guests are welcome to attend the Under 13 team curry night (7.30pm - 9.00pm) after training on Wednesday 14th during half-term (not to be confused with the curry fund-raiser being organised by the Under 15s):

• Wednesday 7 February: Home Training
• Sunday 11 February: Home Training
• Wednesday 14 February: Home Training and Under 13 Curry Night
• Sunday 18 February - Bognor Away
• Wednesday 21 February: Home Training
• Sunday 25 February - Tunbridge Wells Home

Note that we have cancelled the fixture away at Pulborough this coming Sunday due to lack of squad size. We'll have to see how things shape up for Bognor in terms of numbers.

So, please, please, please make an effort to bring along some new potential players to try it out - I know that Heathfield and Uplands are due to start rugby in earnest after half term and note that we have agreed 6 free memberships for new players for the remainder of the season so let's take advantage of this.  

Team members who attend Heathfield Community College: the biggest responsibility is on you since I know there are a lot of good players there.

All the best

Douglas Wardle

2/10/2007 11:53:44 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

This match saw Heathfield attempting to have 2 junior sides in Sussex County finals, with the Boars playing their final next Sunday at Burgess Hill.  Heath were able to field a strong side with all the 2^nd team regulars being available, however reports of a strong Hastings team from their easy victory in the quarters, meant Heathfield would have to be on top form.

 

This was a game with no quarter asked and none given, the first 15 minutes was a full-bloodied affair with both packs almost cancelling each other out.  With only a penalty to show from the boot of Jaimie Marchant after some determined drives onto the Hastings half, Heathfield were guilty of too much passion and too little rugby.  This was emphasised on the 20^th minute mark when Chris Jones was found to be too over-exuberant in his rucking style and was given a yellow card.   The following 10 minutes with 14 players  tested the Heath defence but not only were they up to the task but also managed to take the game to Hastings.

 

With Jones back on after his sin bin, Heathfield started to play rugby. The power of the Heath forwards gallantly lead by skipper Ian Jenkins began to take it’s toll on Hastings and a drive up the left side of the field was stopped just short.  But the ball was whipped out to the fly half English who drifted inside his defender and managed the deftest of passes for full back Barry Slay, timing his run to perfection to crash through under the posts, Marchant converted the penalty

 

Going in at Half-time 13-0 up, Heathfield felt they had the measure of the Hastings side and their pack really began to dominate.  Hastings had no answer to the powerful driving mauls and the front five were making the hard yards with several impressive ball carry’s.  Hastings resorted to conceding penalties, 2 of which were converted by Marchant.  The cry from the Hastings supporters was to keep it away from the Heath forwards and play loose, this tactic was punished when Heathfield 2nds top try scorer Matt Skinner collected a loose kick on his own 10m line. His long mazy run, breaking through some ineffectual tackling, saw him score in the corner.

 

From the kick off Jenkins collected and drove through the Hastings pack allowing English to the kick deep into the Hastings half. Good harassing saw Heath gain some good possession in the corner and the Heath winger cut a fine angle to go in under the posts, Marchant again converted to take his tally to 13points.

 

At 26- 0 up Heathfield were able to ring the changes with all the replacements coming on.  This didn’t diminish the dominance of the Heathfield side, with both forwards and backs putting in a strong contribution right up to the final whistle.  It was just such play that saw a fine try in the corner from scrumhalf replacement Ed Youngson in the corner.  This sealed one of the best performances of the season for the 2^nd team and puts them through to the final on the 25^th March.

 

After an overall excellent team performance it was difficult to identify one man of the match, an unfortunate Jaimie Marchant was just pipped by the skipper Ian Jenkins whose collections from the restarts, powerful driving runs and uncompromising defence deservedly saw him awarded it.

 

Report by Shaun Hipgrave

 

2/3/2007 5:46:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heath field continued their run of comfortable victories in a game which suffered from two front row injuries to the home side. The reorganisation involved prevented the Greenies from running in their usual flow of tries in the second half. Crawley, as anticipated, competed well up front but never gave any indication that they could match the fluency and skill of the home teams three quarters. Heathfield always looked the likely winners and duly completed a well earned double against Crawley.

After a positive start Heath field scored twice in the opening quarter. Koby Tonkin secured excellent lineout ball and scrum half Vokins passed to hooker Lawrence on the blind side who drove over the line with half the Crawley pack trying to stop him. Bryn Jones converted from the touchline and the greenies were into their stride. Within five minutes Heath field scored one of their now customary text book tries. They won a lineout on the Crawley 22, Vokins fed his fly half, and Bryn Jones ran a good line before feeding Damien Pestell who made a lovely inside break to score to the left of the posts. The conversion was missed but Heath field continued to play some thrilling rugby with Nick Cherry having a number of thrusting runs from full back. However Crawley defended stoutly and a few final passes from Heath went astray. Crawley hardly ever threatened but managed two penalties before half time to bring the score to 12-6 at the break.

From the kick off to start the second half the inspirational Heath field Hooker, Rob Lawrence, sustained a knee injury and had to leave the field .Heathfield`s front row sub Tom Pritchard moved from flanker to hooker. Lee Vokins moved to the back row, Nick Cherry to scrum half and Will Drinkwater to full back. These changes clearly affected the rhythm of Heath fields game although the eventual result of the match was never in any doubt.Crawley`s determined and physical pack tried to put their side back into contention but Heath field always had too much class and some excellent passing by Drink water and Cherry sent the skipper Jones over for a try wide out to make the score 17-6. At this point Jones closed down the game with some superb kicking which in effect guaranteed another victory for the Greenies.

Sadly Heathfield`s excellent young prop Andre Douglas had to go off with a rib injury with some twenty minutes remaining which resulted in uncontested scrums because the home side had already used their front row replacement. The Crawley forwards attempted to stage a recovery but in fact it was Heathfield`s outstanding player on the day, Damien Pestell, who ran onto a pass from Nick Cherry to close out the match with his second fine try.

For Heath field the whole side played with great heart and tackled splendidly. The back row was, as ever, outstanding in attack and defence and Nick Cherry proved what a talented player he is whether at scrum half or full back. This was not Heath field at their flowing best but it was nevertheless a good and hard earned victory.

Report by Mike de St Croix

1/27/2007 11:59:49 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Boars backs cut loose

This exciting game was not as one sided as the score line suggests. However “Forwards win matches and backs decide by how much” is a famous saying in rugby and the Boars backs were rampant in this game adding to the score whenever ball was available to them.

East Grinstead brought a forward dominated side to the Waldron pitch and the Boars forwards were made to work hard all game. The scrums offered little clean possession for Heathfield as the heavier and better drilled EG pack had the Boars pack going backwards. However good displays in the loose and in the lineout gave the Boars backs the possession they needed and it was well used.

Leading try scorer Simon Hollingdale has been quiet in his last few games but came to life to score the first Heathfield try from the halfway line. His strong running was assisted by poor tackling from East Grinstead. This set the tone for the rest of the first half with Heathfield resisting pressure in the forwards before breaking free through the backs. Additional tries were provided by Farrell, Woods, Burdett, Wates, Cook and Lewis to give a comfortable 41-0 score at half-time.

The East Grinstead team talk must have been a good one as they came out determined to use their forwards to even better effect. The blue and whites gained the Heathfield 22 and then won a scrum about 7 metres out, gained control of the ball and pushed the Boars pack back over their own line for a try.

The Boars countered with a superb try from Burdett who jinked from one side of the pitch to the other before going back to score between the posts. To their credit Grinstead again came back and again put the Boars pack under pressure in their 22 and stole the ball against the head then attacked the blind side to score a second try.

Heathfield then regained their composure and scored further tries from Woods, Cook, Hollingdale and Henry. The movement and angles of running were excellent and provided good practice for the forthcoming Sussex Salver final against Horsham (Noon on the 11^th February at Burgess Hill RFC).

Gallant East Grinstead claimed the last score of the game when they once again bludgeoned their way over the Boars line with the very last move of the match.

Man of the Match was Brady Burdett for a scintillating display of attacking rugby.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, A. Sutton, J. Geesin (S. Lester – 50), J. Parsons, T. Rose (P. Hookway – 40), B. Taylor, K. Lewis, D. Cook, G. Ellery (T. Wates – 25), B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, A. Farrell, R. Such, S. Hollingdale (B. O’Neil – 65), R. Woods (J. Henry – 60)

Report by Mike MacLeod

1/27/2007 11:56:28 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

A reminder to everyone to please use your vote to help make the Boars the Courier's Team of the Year; you can vote as many times as you like, and it is not limited to just one vote per person.

1/22/2007 6:26:55 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield entertained opposition from a lower league in a Sussex Shield quarter final on Saturday and overpowered them from kick off to the final whistle. Norfolk Arms never gave up but the home side had too much pace, power and skill to allow their opposition even the semblance of a look in. The Greenies however were not on song with place kicking and only one of their eleven tries was converted. Although a good proportion of their tries were scored by forwards all resulted from powerful breaks, some from deep positions, and featured strong running and good handling.

Many of Heathfields best moments came from their reserve contingent with some surging runs from their athletic forwards and a gutsy and thoroughly competent performance from an ex mini Ed Harrison who came on at scrum half when Mark Walker injured an ankle. Bruce Pestell moved to second row, Lee Vokins to flanker and Harrison to the base of the scrum. He gave a lively performance with his tackling particularly catching the eye.

The Heathfield front row were in storming form with Rob Lawrence making a number of exquisite breaks and the massive Hunter-Evans running around the park like a spring lamb. The happy trio was completed by Andre Douglas having his first full game for some weeks. Andre has been playing superbly as a very fit impact player but he proved in this match what a good all-round forward he is.

The Home side gave ample evidence of how rugby is improving at Heath field and it is worth noting that the club did not concede a point on Saturday and that the top three sides have a real chance of winning a county trophy each. Next week it is down to earth again with a home league match against Crawley.

Report by Mike de St Croix 

1/20/2007 9:00:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

This cup quarter final saw a much changed Heathfield 2^nd team, with a variety of the regulars having other commitments.  However this gave opportunities to some new faces who grasped it with both hands.  Horsham arrived confidently having convincingly knocked Heathfield Boars out in the last round.  Yet from the off, Heathfield magnificently lead by skipper for the day the replacement Chris Jones managed to dominate the game.  Sticking to the game plan of moving the ball around, maintaining a high pace and keeping the ball away from Horsham’s big forwards, Heathfields pressure had to count.  And it did! After 10 minutes when Matt Skinner broke through in the centres to run in under the posts from the halfway line, this was converted by Will Drinkwater. 

There followed a typical Jack Bayley try, playing at openside in a backrow unit that performed excellently throughout the game and created the platform for most of Heath’s successful attacking moves.  From broken play he seized the ball and managed to run in from the 22 metre line with Drinkwater again making the conversion.  Just 5 minutes later after excellent drives from the Heath forwards on the right, the ball was swept along the backline to Rob Such on the wing who beat two tacklers for an superb try in the corner.

Heath’s forwards continued to drive into Horsham, with all the front 5 putting strong combative performances in.  Just before half time after some excellent ground gained by Evans and Jones the backs broke out on the left, Drinkwater ran a wide arc then put a delicate kick through for his backs to chase.  Debutant Miles Hearsey managed some fancy footwork himself dribbling the ball over the try line for a fine score.  Heathfield ended the first half 24 – 0 up.

It was always going to be tough playing into the wind in the second half and it took a while for Heathfield to take control of the game.  However, Shaun Dorrell a colt in his debut senior game playing at no 8, started to impose himself on the game.  He made some excellent individual breaks setting up great field positions.  It was from a ruck on the halfway lane he managed to peel off, slip several tackles and his pace took him through on towards the try line.  He was tackled just short, but managed to stay on his feet and release a pop pass to Matt Skinner who went over for his second try of the day, Drinkwater converted.

Throughout the match Heath’s backrow pressurised the Horsham breakdown and tackled them into submission.  It was from some of this harassing play that Heath turned the ball over in their own half, then, with 2 carries from Matt Skinner and Levi Willis saw them put Drinkwater in for a try in the corner and take his tally for the game to 11 points.

Overall, it was an excellent team performance that sees Heathfield through to the semi-final in 2 weeks time at home.  It was difficult to single out a man of the match after such a good team performance, however as part of an excellent backrow and in his best performance of the season Ian Schleider took the award.

Report by Shaun Hipgrave

1/20/2007 6:24:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

With all 3 Heathfield & Waldron RFC’s teams playing at home the Boars ran out onto Waldron’s rarely used second pitch for an early kick off. The Boars enjoyed a close game against their Kent neighbours in bright sunshine and ankle deep mud. That it ended without a score was more a testament to the intensity of the defence rather than a lack of skill or commitment.

Both teams showed flashes of skilful handling before the final pass went astray or the backs ran out of room on the smaller pitch. There were comic moments when both teams failed to tap correctly when awarded penalties on their opponent’s 5 metre lines which led to a loss of possession. Perhaps this shows that experience is not enough to allow you to play properly!

Both sets of forwards had their best spell when they had the advantage of the down slope but neither had the brains or brawn to break down a stubborn defence.

The Boars almost lost the game in the last minute of the match when the Tonbridge Juds drove up the hill and were only just stopped a metre short by a brave effort led by Duncan Hesketh.

Man of the Match was Ben Taylor for his brave defensive performance.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, Jason La Roche, J. Geesin (A. Sutton – 50), B. O’Neil, T. Rose, S. Walker (Capt.), G. Robinson, B. Taylor, G. Ellery, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, A. Farrell, M. McDonald, K. Davies (S. Hollingdale – 15), M. Barber (K. Lewis – 40)

Report by Mike MacLeod

1/20/2007 6:20:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)